What Is Enterprise Business Intelligence? 5 Reasons It Matters for IT Leaders
There's no room for guesswork in business, where every second counts and making informed decisions matters. Likewise, without fast, easy access to enterprise insights, organizations can’t identify and fix inefficiencies that put their business at risk.
Across industries worldwide, inefficiencies account for an estimated USD $15 trillion in waste and lost resources each year. These massive inefficiencies are fueled by a lack of accessible end-to-end process transparency. This makes it hard for organizations to be prepared for difficult future events or adapt. But getting value from data and delivering that value across the enterprise is a persistent challenge, with just 44% of data and analytics leaders providing value to their organizations, according to a Gartner survey.
Unleashing the power of enterprise business intelligence
Despite the undeniable benefits of using business and process data to make better decisions and combat inefficiencies, many companies need help figuring out how to access that data and turn it into usable information. Data silos, resistance to change, and lack of expertise can turn simple data questions into a frustrating nightmare. But it doesn't have to be this way.
Enter enterprise business intelligence—a concept that loosely defines the use of your business and process data to gain relevant insights about your operation. Depending on who you ask, enterprise intelligence can have various definitions. And today, it’s used interchangeably with terms like process intelligence, operational intelligence, and other concepts related to using your enterprise data for better decision making.
This article delves into enterprise business intelligence, unraveling its complexities and highlighting why it's indispensable for large organizations.
We’ll explore five compelling reasons why enterprise intelligence is not just important but vital for your business's survival and success. But before doing that, let’s define it.
Defining enterprise business intelligence
So, what exactly is enterprise business intelligence? Let's break it down.
Enterprise intelligence goes beyond traditional business intelligence (BI) by providing comprehensive insights into all areas of the business, including process analyses that typically fall outside the scope of many BI tools. In many industries, scattered information, constant process changes, and unpredictable market conditions can undermine business leaders' confidence in their data and decisions.
Enterprise intelligence addresses these challenges by offering fast, easy access to actionable process data, enabling organizations to identify and resolve operational inefficiencies that could put their business at risk. Unlike traditional BI, which focuses on analyzing historical data from limited sources, enterprise intelligence integrates data from multiple sources across the entire organization. It provides real-time process insights, advanced analytics, and greater scalability.
This holistic approach transforms business operations with end-to-end process visibility, driving efficient, cost-effective decision-making. It unifies disconnected data and operations into a flexible, holistic model that fuels operational excellence.
Components of enterprise business intelligence
Choosing the right vendor for enterprise intelligence is crucial. It's like hiring the right contractor for a complex building project. You need a reliable, experienced partner that’s capable of meeting your needs.
When selecting, consider factors like scalability, user-friendliness, and support services, in addition to these must-have capabilities:
AI & automation: Platforms with AI and automation capabilities provide perhaps the biggest advantage to businesses, allowing you to more easily uncover insights with AI assistance and take action through automation. The ability to close the loop on following your data from insight to decision to action can be the differentiating factor that makes your improvement initiatives a success.
Data integration & management: Imagine solving a puzzle with pieces scattered across different rooms. Data integration combines these pieces, connecting data from disparate sources across hybrid cloud environments and data stores. This unified approach forms the foundation of effective enterprise intelligence, providing a 360-degree view of the customer, providing process transparency, and centralizing key operational insights. And once these pieces are together, they must be organized. Data management ensures that data is accurate, consistent, and secure.Data analytics & reporting: Data analytics involves examining the integrated data to identify patterns and trends. This can be descriptive (what happened?), predictive (what could happen?), or prescriptive (what should we do?). These tools transform complex data into easy-to-understand visuals like charts, graphs, and customizable dashboards. Drill-down capabilities allow users to click on specific data points to view detailed information, making it easier to digest and act upon the data.
Process mining & intelligence: Business data is only one piece of the puzzle. To truly make data-driven decisions, you’ll also need a deep understanding of how your processes work. This is where process intelligence comes into play. By combining tools like process mining alongside process dashboards and reporting, process intelligence tools give you the ability to measure and monitor process performance over time, so you can improve mission critical enterprise operations.
Understanding these components is the first step toward effectively leveraging enterprise intelligence to give decision makers a complete picture of the enterprise at scale, enabling the real-time insights needed for effective and trusted data-driven decisions. Now, let’s explore five reasons enterprise business intelligence is indispensable for surviving and thriving in the digital economy.
Benefits of enterprise intelligence
1. Enhanced decision-making
Enterprise business intelligence transforms data into clear insights, turning uncertainty into confidence. In a world where one misstep can cost millions, enterprise business intelligence empowers leaders to make precise, timely decisions faster.
Imagine steering a ship through treacherous waters without a compass. That's decision-making without data. With enterprise intelligence, you can access data from multiple sources all in one place. This comprehensive view empowers leaders to make data-driven decisions that align with business goals and propel the organization forward.
Appian’s data fabric insights. Part of Process HQ, this capability allows users to quickly design reports with grids and charts to aggregate, filter, sort, and format data as needed.
When evaluating enterprise intelligence capabilities, Look for platforms that offer role-based access control ensures that critical insights are available to the right people, empowering people to make data-driven decisions while maintaining data security.
2. Increased operational efficiency
Operational efficiency is critical for any successful organization. It's about doing more with less, eliminating waste, and streamlining processes. Enterprise business intelligence plays a pivotal role in enhancing operational efficiency by identifying bottlenecks and uncovering opportunities for process improvement.
Enterprise intelligence tools act like a high-powered microscope, providing a detailed view of your operations. They highlight inefficiencies and uncover opportunities for process improvement across business applications. For instance, tools like process mining can analyze real-time production data, pinpoint areas where bottlenecks occur, and suggest adjustments to improve workflows. This granular level of insight ensures that every cog in your business operates smoothly.
For example, German utility company Stadtwerke Bonn faced a complex challenge: managing 367,000 meter readings across various channels, from online portals to in-person visits, with frequent delays and errors. To uncover inefficiencies and enhance their meter-to-cash (M2C) operations, they turned to Appian Process Mining. The results were transformative.
Appian's analysis revealed that 75% of plausibility checks in M2C were unnecessary, wasting up to 571 working days. With these insights, Stadtwerke Bonn optimized plausibility limits, reducing rework and manual activities. Integrating Appian's process mining capabilities, Stadtwerke Bonn automated manual tasks, leveraging RPA and IDP for faster settlements and document creation.
Armed with data fabric functionality and data-driven insights, Stadtwerke Bonn streamlined workflows, reduced costs, and significantly boosted customer satisfaction, demonstrating the transformative benefits of enterprise intelligence.
3. Competitive advantage
Enterprise intelligence tools enable large organizations to transform raw data into strategic assets, providing critical insights that streamline processes, personalize interactions, and uncover new growth opportunities.
Think of enterprise intelligence as a chess grandmaster who predicts an opponent's moves several steps ahead. In the business world, this foresight allows companies to position themselves strategically, counter competitors' tactics, and capture market share before others see the opportunity.
As we explore enterprise intelligence benefits more deeply, we’ll look at how it enhances customer experiences, turning data into powerful tools for customer engagement and loyalty.
4. Improved customer experience
In the digital economy, customer experience is the new battleground for businesses. Enterprise intelligence tools enable companies to gather and analyze vast customer data from various touchpoints, helping them meet and exceed customer expectations. This data includes purchase history, browsing behavior, feedback, and social media interactions. By integrating and analyzing this data, business leaders help remove friction from the customer experience, making customers feel valued and understood.
When Leroy Merlin, the world's third-largest home improvement retailer, needed to manage a sudden increase in e-commerce, in-store orders, and refund and return requests, they turned to Appian. Using Appian’s low-code platform and data fabric tools, Leroy Merlin accelerated their refund and return process through intelligent automation and intelligent document processing (IDP) powered by AI. With Appian's AI and automation capabilities, Leroy Merlin reduced their refund and return process from 15 days to 1.5–2 days.
There’s also the case of Oscar Health, a leading healthcare technology company. The company successfully migrated multiple processes to Appian to improve member and provider experiences and drive affordability. Oscar integrated Appian's data fabric capability into numerous internal systems and applications. The integration improved claim processing and provider contracting workflows. The result: Oscar's claim processing team now handles ~6,500 new claim holds and inquiries per day in Appian, and after just six months, have processed over 750,000 requests—decreasing handle time by as much as 30%.
Empower business users with a single place to access, analyze, and report
on process and business data.
5. Innovation and sustainable growth
Beyond enhancing customer experience, enterprise business intelligence is also pivotal in driving innovation and growth. By turning vast amounts of data into actionable insights, businesses can identify gaps in the market, understand emerging trends, and develop innovative products and services to capitalize on them.
NatWest Group, the UK's most prominent business bank, faced challenges navigating multiple layers of internal governance processes and approvals. A policy change could take up to three to four weeks to complete. Taking a new product from idea to value could take three to four months, going through all the change and risk assessment requirements. The NatWest team condensed change and risk governance cycle time by automating 46% of data in their governance processes, halving over 800 triage questions, and streamlining multiple assessments.
For example, product governance time dropped from 4.5 days to less than 20 minutes, marking a key milestone in their goal of reducing cycle time from 73 days to 73 minutes.
By providing the foresight needed to venture into new markets and develop breakthrough products and services, enterprise intelligence empowers businesses to innovate and grow. Next, we’ll address the challenges of implementing enterprise intelligence and how to overcome them, positively influencing future outcomes.
Barriers to enterprise intelligence
While the benefits of enterprise business intelligence are compelling, successful implementation requires overcoming challenges such as data silos, resistance to change, and a lack of skilled personnel. Addressing these obstacles is crucial for unlocking its full potential.
Data silos: Data isolated in different departments or systems can impede comprehensive analysis and decision-making.
Resistance to change: Employees may resist adopting new tools due to fear of the unknown or lack of understanding their benefits.
Talent gap: Implementing and managing enterprise intelligence systems requires specialized skills, and many organizations need more data analytics expertise, data management skills, and familiarity with BI tools.
Busting barriers to enterprise intelligence
Break down data silos: Implement data fabric solutions to integrate data across various platforms dynamically. Data fabric ensures real-time access and seamless connectivity, providing a unified data foundation for comprehensive analysis and accurate insights. This approach enables businesses to break down silos and create a cohesive data environment.
Evangelize adoption: Foster a data-driven culture by educating employees about the benefits of enterprise and involving them in the implementation process. Provide comprehensive training and support to ease the transition. Highlighting quick wins and success stories can also help reduce resistance and encourage adoption.
Bridge the talent gap: Invest in training and development programs to build internal enterprise intelligence capabilities. Offer courses and certifications in data analytics, data management, and BI tools to upskill existing employees. Additionally, consider hiring specialized talent or partnering with external experts to fill immediate gaps.
Business leaders looking to ensure continuous improvement over time are investing in platforms that provide:
End-to-end process visibility.
Fast and easy access to process intelligence and business insights.
Digital agility to support rapid process change.
Process intelligence tools like Appian’s Process HQ provide a solution for measuring, monitoring, and optimizing enterprise performance within the Appian Platform, which means you don’t have to be a data scientist to use them.
Process HQ offers automated, actionable insights at a lower cost and effort compared to traditional process mining or BI tools. It eliminates complex data transformation, provides unique process visibility, and enables end-to-end optimization using AI, workflow orchestration, and low-code development.
By integrating data fabric, process mining, machine learning, and generative AI, Process HQ enables you to monitor and enhance all of your business processes on Appian.
Harnessing enterprise intelligence for operational success
Consider Amadori, a leader in the Italian agriculture-food sector. They faced challenges with a fragmented technology landscape, consisting of various ERP implementations, legacy systems, and custom-developed applications. This lack of integration led to numerous manual steps and task handoffs, making it difficult to monitor which resulted in poor operational visibility.
Amadori tackled these issues using Appian’s data fabric and process automation capabilities. With Appian, they managed over 3,500 credit limit change requests, reducing the average lead time from one week to just 2.5 days. In fleet management, combining data fabric and process automation cut the lead time from maintenance to order generation by 466%, reducing the process from two weeks to just three days.
The integration of data fabric not only streamlined operations but also enhanced visibility and efficiency, demonstrating the significant impact of a unified data approach on business performance.
Making better decisions about your products, customers, competitors, and more
We defined enterprise business intelligence as transforming raw data into actionable insights, emphasizing its key components: data integration, data management, data analytics, process performance, and reporting tools. Enterprise intelligence matters for several compelling reasons. It enhances decision-making by providing leaders with real-time, accurate information, enabling them to make informed choices that drive the organization forward. Additionally, it increases operational efficiency by identifying inefficiencies, optimizing processes, streamlining operations, and reducing costs.
Furthermore, enterprise intelligence offers a competitive advantage by allowing businesses to be flexible and adaptable, so they can quickly adjust to changing market conditions and business trends. It improves customer experience by enabling businesses to understand and anticipate customer needs, leading to more personalized and satisfying customer interactions.
Enterprise business intelligence: A strategic imperative
While the benefits are clear, we also highlighted the challenges of enterprise business intelligenceI, such as data silos, resistance to change, and a lack of skilled personnel. We offered practical solutions, including promoting a data-driven culture, investing in training and development, and ensuring top-down support. The success of Amadori, Leroy Merlin, NatWest, Oscar Health, CNA, and Telus proves the effectiveness of these strategies.
Enterprise business intelligence is not just about collecting data; it's about unlocking the stories that data tells. It's about turning numbers into narratives, patterns into plans, and insights into innovation. Embracing data empowers organizations to navigate the complexities of today's business environment with confidence and agility.
Here’s the bottom line: The future belongs to IT leaders who harness the power of data to drive informed, strategic business decisions.
