Business Analytics for data-driven organizations
Business intelligence is essential to any modern, data-driven organization. Using BI, every team, employee, and manager can contribute to better performance. Business Intelligence will improve your organization’s financial results, quality, and competitive edge. However, achieving success using BI & Analytics isn’t easy. There are many issues to consider, such as:
- What are the 7 biggest pitfalls and BI blunders to avoid?
- How do you make a business case for the required investments?
- How do you find the real KPIs and million-dollar insights?
- Which skills (such as Big Data training) do your employees need?
- What are the most appropriate BI and dashboard tools, and how do you choose one?
- How do you build a flexible, future-proof data infrastructure?
- How do you handle Big Data, Advanced Analytics, and all the new forms of BI?
- Which steps do you need to take to make real impact using data analytics?
If you recognize one or more of these questions, or if you want to delve into BI & Analytics, feel free to contact one of Passionned Group’s Business Intelligence specialists.
What is Business Intelligence?
There are three aspects to the definition of Business Intelligence:
- Definition of Business Intelligence as a process: BI is the continuous process collecting, registering, and analyzing data. The resulting (predictive) information and knowledge is then applied in the decision-making process to significantly improve the organization’s performance. In short: the right information, to the right person, at the right time, in the right format.
- Definition of Business Intelligence as technology: BI is the collection of ICT tools which supports BI as a process in the organization, making it more efficient.
- Definition of Business Intelligence as a discipline: BI is the collection of concepts, processes, strategies, culture, structure, methods, standards, and ICT tools that ensure that organization can continuously develop and become more intelligent.
These days, data science is also a common buzzword. Data science tends to put more focus on the statistical elements of BI, such as data mining, machine learning, and analytical models.
See also our blog: The Data Scientist: the superhero that doesn’t exist.
Take advantage of our years of experience
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Intelligent Insights BI & Analytics™

Research paper: Business Intelligence pitfalls & success factors

Business Intelligence training

Business Intelligence & AI book

Battle-scarred in Business Analytics
Our Business Intelligence advisors are battle-scarred when it comes to both simple and complex Business Intelligence questions and implementations. In our extensive Analytics knowledge base, you’ll find exactly what you need to get started with BI & Analytics, or to implement them with greater success. We deliver 100% independent business analytics expertise that’s totally independent from BI suppliers.
BI can be cheaper and more flexible
When we’re talking about agile BI, we’re often talking about developing according to the scrum methodology. Or the idea that BI can make the organization more agile. But there’s little attention paid to making the BI process itself more agile and cheaper. But that’s quite easy nowadays! Read more…
The 9 most important BI & Big Data trends
Data is constantly changing the world, and organizations have more and more responsibility to use data properly. Which BI & Big Data trends should we be prepared for? Read more…
What are you going to accomplish using BI?
Business Intelligence gives you clear insight into your performance and advanced analysis of all your data, even that which hasn’t come into focus yet. That’s how BI enables low-cost decision-making and data-driven actions. This will improve your competitive edge and increase the productivity of your employees, by making the right information available to the right people at the right time. Everyone gets the information they need to make the right decisions and optimize processes. We’ll make your organization more intelligent in every way.
Business Analytics is a multi-disciplinary specialty
Business Analytics is a multi-disciplinary specialty, which makes it challenging. It’s impossible to separate technology, organization, strategy, processes, innovation, and behavior. This combination of factors makes successful implementation difficult. Sometimes the technology is very important, other times the emphasis is on innovation, for example with Big Data. Other times, the behavioral side of things is the determining factor of success.
5 Advantages of Business Intelligence & Data Analytics
- Much faster decision-making at every level of the organization.
- Leads to one version of the truth and single definitions.
- Profitability and customer satisfaction go up because of service optimization.
- Working with genuine KPIs so that you’re always on the right track.
- A more agile organization that can save money in many areas.
The BI project approach
Does successful Business Intelligence start from the business, the processes and the strategy, or from the information systems and technology that support the business? Should an organization first collect the data (data-driven) or must we first map out our strategy and the associated information needs (business-driven)?
Combine top-down and bottom-up
The answer to both questions – as it appears in practice – is that we need to combine the approaches: top-down and bottom-up, business-driven and data-driven. However, Business Intelligence must always begin with (or from) the business . It is, after all, called ‘business intelligence’. BI projects that are not managed by the business are unlikely to succeed, simply because on completion the project results will typically not match with the organization’s ‘company language’ and information needs.
Too much data
It can also happen that Business Intelligence systems turn out to contain too much data and too little meaningful management information. As a result, users still need to search for the needles in the haystack. Successful Business Intelligence, however, ensures continuous interaction between content (indicators and dimensions) and structure (the architecture of the data warehouse), whereby the former determines the latter: structure follows function.
Shape BI according to your business processes
We can only give Business Intelligence shape and meaning if the business processes and the objectives of our organization are in fact leading whilst developing the Business Intelligence system (Van Beek, 2016).
IT must cooperate as much as possible
An important key question is: what management information managers and knowledge workers need in order to both monitor their goals and results and (quickly) achieve and improve these results . A Business Intelligence system cannot function without data and Information Technology. For that reason, business operations and IT must cooperate and interact as much as possible. This emphasises the continuous interaction that should exist between IT and the business, in each BI project.
Figure: Business operations and IT continuously alternate and interact during BI projects.
The departure point is the business
The departure point for each BI project is the business itself. Via a number of interactions between IT and business operations, IT will ultimately deliver the final product back to the business.
- Phase 1: The business provides the indicators and IT checks whether the data for the different key performance indicators is in fact available.
- Phase 2: The business provides the Business Intelligence strategy and IT translates that strategy into a future-proof architecture including the required tools and technology.
- Phase 3: The business checks whether the indicators indeed deliver the right results and IT rolls out the Business Intelligence system throughout the organization after which the organization makes sure that it is embedded and that a PDCA cycle is set up.
Promising BI technology
Naturally, in addition to these official moments of contact and transference, much more communication will take place concerning informal (or less important) matters. Besides all this, IT has a role to alert the organization about new, promising technology in the field of Business Intelligence, which may help solve existing – and future problems – in the business operations. The close collaboration between business and IT requires a project manager who can deal with both fields (IT and business). Business-driven and technology-driven go ‘hand in hand’ and experience shows that this combination can produce highly successful results.
An abundance of data, but a lack of information
Usually, every organization has ample sources of data (databases). Not just within the organization, but also from external sources. There’s a plethora of data available these days. The most challenging aspect in practice proves to be finding the right data and making it available to the users as integral information. This information has to be used in the right way, so that users on all levels can make the right choices, and in line with the goals and the strategy, in tune with the organizational culture.
Make short work of the information paradox
Although plenty of data is available, there also seems to be a severe lack of information. Using this information so that users on all levels can make the right choices requires even more effort. And making decisions in line with the goals and the strategy, in tune with the organizational culture, seems like a bridge too far for many organizations. Passionned Group’s consultants are eager to help you turn data into information.
Bespoke Business Intelligence using standard tools
Business Analytics (BA) demands a custom-tailored approach. In our vision, true intelligence is specific to your company, otherwise you lose your competitive edge. But it’s important to work with standard tools in order to recoup your investments in BI. This is especially true for Big Data applications.
But before you start thinking about tools, you should make sure to gain insight into your information needs and possible applications. What makes sense in that context? What would be the ideal scope of your (first) BI project? How do you make a business case and who do you involve in the process? Passionned Group would be happy to give you the appropriate guidance.
Business Intelligence & Analytics training courses
We’ve developed a selection of Business Analytics & Intelligence training courses, and we’re always expanding our offering. Over 1000 consultants, managers, and employees have already taken part in our training courses and masterclasses. Book your unique BI training course today and become equipped to take on a leading or advisory role.
to our business analytics courses (7)
Advantages of our approach to BI
- Comprehensive approach where data, information, and tools lead to continuous improvement.
- Services from A to Z: from BI training and advice to complete implementations.
- Working from strategic goals so that the management information makes sense.
- Focusing on step-by-step realization of an intelligent organization.
- 100% independent: you never have to wonder whose interests we serve.
Customer testimonial
“Thanks to the knowledge and expertise of the experts of Passionned Group, our Business Intelligence process was fast and effective.”
Jan Maarten van der Meulen
PwC
Unique Business Intelligence research app
Passionned Group has been conducting annual surveys measuring ‘intelligence’ since 2006, which makes us unique. We’ve researched over 80 factors that lead to BI success. These days we can draw from a database containing over 800 organizations from a great variety of industries. The advantage for you is that based on this, we can always offer sound and relevant advice. And moreover, the BI implementations we can offer you have a much higher rate of success. See our research report: ‘The biggest pitfalls in BI.’
Do you want successful Business Intelligence?
Feel free to contact us for an appointment to discuss the possibilities of Business Analytics and Big Data applications for your organization.