Why Business Intelligence? : Significance of Business Intelligence tools and integrating BI governance with corporate governance

Business Intelligence (BI) is one of the fastest growing software sector and software vendors are rapidly developing multiple BI tools to support the growing data analysis needs of organisations. In order to be sustainable in a briskly changing turbulent environment, organisations need to have access to information about their operational performance. BI tools play a vital role in supporting the decision makers at different organisational levels. As these tools are becoming critical in decision making, it has become not only an information technology concern but also a management concern. Without proper governance it would be impractical to achieve the value that BI tools offer. Adopting a BI governance framework in organisations will lead to common principles and clear ownership over information. Additionally, appropriate alignment between corporate governance and BI governance can yield more benefits. This paper provides an insight into the importance and value of BI tools. Key functionalities of BI tools have also been highlighted. Different challenges in gaining true value from BI tools have been examined. Four phases of developing a BI governance framework have been illustrated. The alignment between BI governance and corporate governance has also been explored with a recommended model. Exploratory analysis of two organisations (Premier Healthcare Alliance & BellSouth Telecommunications) to identify how they have utilised BI tools and adopted BI governance has been briefly carried out. The paper posits that if the steps for developing a BI framework are adopted by organisations and the BI framework is aligned with the corporate framework, BI deployment and usage will be successful with reduced risk levels.