In these uncertain economic times, businesses are being forced to implement crucial cost-cutting measures to expel any and all unnecessary spending. But in the process of trying to improve cost efficiency, businesses can inadvertently under-utilize, or even expel altogether, valuable initiatives that are strategically viable to the longevity of that business.

But how can businesses be so oblivious to their own strengths and weaknesses? One common reason is miscommunication of business intelligence between the business’s Information Technology department, and the organization’s end users.

Internal Conflict Between IT Departments and End Users

While IT departments are cost centers, and strive to maintain security and control over sensitive data, end users want access to this same business intelligence information. This creates turmoil within the business, as IT departments and end users butt heads over the consumption and delivery of information, which ultimately leads to miscommunication over business efficiency.

This internal confusion can be severely detrimental to a business’s success. For instance, some IT costs are difficult to assess, and without streamlined business intelligence, these costs can only be indirectly measured by business managers. In the end, business managers will not have a true awareness of their total IT costs, and will be unable to make concrete decisions regarding their IT spending.

Streamlining Business Intelligence to Accommodate Everybody

One way to avoid miscommunication between IT departments and end users, is for businesses to initiate a single comprehensive business intelligence reporting platform. With a platform like this, IT departments could maintain security over confidential data, while also serving the specific information needs of end users.
The successful platform would allow IT departments an environment to interact with end users based on their department, skill level, and experience. By interacting with end users in this way, IT departments could easily police the leaking of unnecessary information, while also making sure end users find access to the information that they need. To do this, the business intelligence reporting platform would have to account for power users, business users, enterprise users, customers, partners, and external users.

Working Together

If a power user wanted a piece of information that an IT department needed to keep confidential, using this streamlined business intelligence, the IT department could give that power user a multitude of appropriate information alternatives. While certain data would remain secure, the IT department would directly guide the user to find what he or she needs.

With IT Departments and end users no longer enemies, enhanced communication would increase awareness of which valuable business initiatives need to remain in place.

Labels: business intelligence, information technology