The value of business intelligence tools : aligning business intelligence governance with corporate governance

Software vendors have developed Business Intelligence (BI) tools to provide an in-depth view about an organisation’s customers, products and services. Use of BI tools by businesses has grown rapidly and expected to play a vital role in supporting the decision makers at all levels of an organisation. As these tools are becoming critical in the decision making process, it has become not only an information technology concern but also a management concern. Without proper governance it would be impractical to achieve the anticipated benefits that BI tools offer. Therefore, it is important to have a BI governance framework, which is a subset of corporate governance. In addition, proper alignment between corporate governance and BI governance can support staff at different hierarchical levels and ensure optimal value. This paper highlights the importance and business value of BI tools. Corporate governance and BI governance have been defined before outlining the steps for developing a BI governance framework. The alignment between BI governance and corporate governance has also been explored with a recommended model.