Page 511 - Handbook of Modern Telecommunications

4-42 CRC Handbook of Modern Telecommunications, Second Edition

5. Empower business users: The ultimate test and one of the most uncompromising success factors of
a BI solution is to empower business users and reduce their dependence on technology resources
significantly. True empowerment comes when a business user interacts with the solutions using
common and simple business language without worrying about where the data is stored and how
the data is retrieved.
6. Adopt connected and consistent solutions: Guard against the tendency to go in for a point solu-
tion that supports your immediate business demands. When the risk department, for instance,
chooses a specific Application Lifestyle Management (ALM) solution or an investment manage-
ment solution without considering the need for holistic enterprise risk and CRM solutions, the
scope to extend the point solution is limited. This is because point solutions are built for specific
needs using varied technology paradigms and choices. Prefer, instead, an integrated, connected,
future-proof solution: a solution that offers connected and consistent analytics that are derived
from the same underlying business model, business definitions, and processing backbone.
7. Reduce the implementation cycle: Unless managed and controlled well, a BI solution implementa-
tion, particularly at the enterprise, division, or department level, can easily spin out of control.
The best way to avoid this is to adopt prebuilt solutions that are, nevertheless, extensible. A good
rule of thumb is to opt for an analytical solution suite that can jump-start your BI initiatives by
50% or so. This immediately reduces the implementation turnaround by about 60%.
8. Close the loop and deliver proactively: Another key feature of a successful BI solution is the capa-
bility to deliver business data proactively to users across multiple touch points. Business users
should be able to define the necessary criteria for alerts and the BI solution should be capable
of sending information as alerts on a variety of touch points. It is this that really determines the
effectiveness of a BI solution: when information is offered in a manner that results in action.
Very few telecommunications companies have built BI solutions that have truly empowered them at
all levels—strategic and tactical—to gain insight into their health and to act on this insight. Many an
implementation story that is touted as a “model” centers on the technological rather the business aspects
of BI. For a BI implementation to succeed in the business sense, it is important for top management to be
committed and supportive, while providing the necessary direction and guidance. Also, it is important
to adopt a strategic design and a common framework across the enterprise, implementing the solution
in phases.
Furthermore, the management must keep in mind that point solutions that cater to specific func-
tional needs may indeed be successful in the short term but, over the long haul, this may put the enter-
prise at considerable risk. Choosing prebuilt analytical solutions that are connected and consistent will
improve the chances of success enormously.

4.3.7 Customer Intelligence
Out of 10,000 customers of an organization, 1,000 customers are providing 80% of the revenue and
many of these most profitable customers reside in a sales region handled by that sales manager recently
hired. Think of how the organization’s strategy might change if it knew some simple, basic facts about
its customers.
Enterprises should see customer activity—interactions with customer service, accounts payable, sales and
marketing, and more—in its entirety. In recent years, businesses have frequently ignored, or at least paid only
cursory attention to, one of the most fundamental keys to success: their relationship with their customers.
The sometimes paradoxical relationship between customers and businesses arises from fundamental
spheres of influence. Consumers had little influence on how businesses responded to their needs, and
businesses could derive little reward by distinguishing themselves through customer relationships and
superior service. In effect, businesses dictated the relationships with their customers, and customers often
accepted that standard. The status quo reigned. In today’s competitive environment, the nature of customer