Why Can't I Get to Data?

Data, data is everywhere, but why can’t you use it? With more than 150 applications, the average consumer packaged goods company cannot get to data. In our quantitative surveys, it is the No. 1 issue of business users in 19 out of 20 studies. Why is this? Reports are inflexible and take too long to design and produce. The organization compensates by analyzing and running the business on spreadsheets. In the words of one leader that I interviewed last week: “It is like running the business on baling wire and spreadsheet jockeys when I had wanted analytics that were easy to use with predictive analytics to point me in the right direction.“

The average company spends 1.7 percent of revenue on information technology, and is juggling multiple projects. To use the data that the organization has, the company may need to slow down some of the projects to design for data usage. Companies need to redefine analytics platforms. IT and line-of-business leaders need to partner.

They need to reverse the trend. The reason that companies are drowning in data and short on analytics and insights is because we did not design the data for cross-functional use. Instead, data is locked in siloes and distinct applications. To correct the problem, analytics must be designed to empower cross-functional data management. Consider:

• Building in-memory reporting for heterogeneous environments. Applications like QlikView, Tableau and Spotfire.
• Design the analytics for self-administration and visualization for the business user.
• When given a choice, minimize the number of ERP instances. If forced to have multiple ERP instances, build a visibility solution on top of multiple ERP instances.
• Deploy new forms of business networks — E2open, Elemica and GT Nexus — to improve supply chain visibility with third-party suppliers (contract manufacturers and third-party logistics providers).
• Demand and supply data repositories to enable the synchronization and harmonization of trading partner information.

While companies wanted to have a solution from one vendor with a bolt-on reporting solution, this is not the current reality. Instead, companies need to design analytics for heterogeneous environments with the end-user in mind. The good news is that there have never been more affordable and viable options. The challenge is stopping all the projects on the move to consider the options to design with usage in mind.