According to a recent report, “The global business intelligence market size is projected to grow $33.3 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 7.6%.”
This remarkable growth can be attributed to various factors, including digital transformation, data-driven reporting, strategic decision-making, etc.
Furthermore, in the contemporary landscape marked by market volatility, global competition, and relentless technological innovation, business intelligence is no longer a choice but an absolute necessity.
Firms are recognizing the true potential of BI due to its ability to enhance visibility and control over business processes. It helps anticipate future trends, identify inaccuracies, and, as a result, improves planning processes with data-driven precision.
This article addresses the benefits of using business intelligence in resource management and how SAVIOM, a modern resource management software can help!
But before that, let’s understand the basics.
1. What is business intelligence, and how has it evolved over time?
Business intelligence (BI) is a technology-enabled process that transforms raw data into actionable insights such as charts, graphs, dashboards, and reports, facilitating operational and strategic decision-making.
A business intelligence architecture consists of essential components such as big data, data warehousing, OLAP, a reporting interface, and an administrative interface. These elements work cohesively to analyze historical and current data to forecast trends, detect critical issues, and improve operational efficiency.
Now let’s understand how BI has evolved to its present state:
The history of BI can be traced back to the 19th century when Richard Devens first used the term to describe how a financier outperformed competitors by understanding market conditions better.
In 1958, IBM’s Hans Peter Luhn, in a 1958 paper, highlighted the challenges organizations faced with data and envisioned effective solutions, earning him the title “Father of Business Intelligence.” The 1970s saw the practical application of BI, with companies like SAP helping corporations manage data and create reports. Additionally, Nielsen introduced one of the earliest BI applications, aiding retailers in tracking sales trends.
Then, around the 1980s, big data came into the picture, but businesses were unaware of how to leverage this new technology. This changed in the 1990s with the emergence of BI 1.0, commonly referred to as the “BI era” during that time. However, since this new technology was a hefty investment, not every business could afford it.
Later, the rise of personal computers and the internet in the mid-1990s influenced BI toward user-friendly solutions. Finally, the 21st century marked a pivotal moment in the evolution of business intelligence, giving rise to cloud-based BI 2.0. It features real-time data processing and self-service analytics capabilities that empower users to address evolving market conditions proactively.
Given the concept and evolution history of BI, the following section discusses its advantages in detail.
2. Benefits of BI in resource management
Adopting business intelligence (BI) in resource management has several merits, each contributing to improved operational excellence. Let’s delve into them one by one:
2.1. Improves decision-making with real-time insights
A robust business intelligence tool provides in-depth, real-time insights into key resource metrics such as availability, capacity vs. demand, utilization, cost rate, etc. This visibility empowers organizations to remain alert regarding exceeding costs, sub-optimal workforce utilization, delayed project deliverables, and other critical factors.
For instance, a manager can rely on the forecast vs. actual report, which highlights variances in cost, time, and other vital aspects. It helps firms implement corrective measures to ensure timely project delivery and within budget, ultimately ensuring success. This way, BI helps improve decision-making by swiftly processing vast volumes of data in real-time.
2.2. Offers configurable dashboards and reports
Business intelligence offers highly interactive dashboards that provide comprehensible insights in the form of graphs, bars, reports, etc. These can be easily configured as per client requirements and viewed from multiple dimensions. For instance, a manager can access the capacity vs. demand report to compare the existing resource capacity against forecasted project requirements.
In cases of resource shortages or excess, organizations can implement necessary resourcing techniques to bridge the skill gaps in advance so that future projects can start on time. Thus, this focused, role-based access to data helps prevent information overload and facilitates seamless implementation of strategic decisions.
2.3. Prevents resource-related bottlenecks through analytics
Traditionally, organizations often resorted to “guesstimates” and intuition when formulating resource plans, leading to bottlenecks such as budget overruns, sub-optimal resource utilization, etc. However, with BI’s powerful analytics, managers can combat these challenges efficiently.
For instance, with project vacancies and people-on-the-bench reports, organizations can strategically fill available positions by selecting competent resources from the bench. This approach safeguards the firm against workforce-related bottlenecks and ensures that resources are working on billable activities that match their skills.
2.4. Provides insights into utilization levels for a healthy resource index
When firms don’t have accurate insights into the current and future resource schedule, it often leads to double-booking or over-allocation, resulting in burnout, disengagement, and unplanned attrition. However, advanced BI analytics with robust utilization reports and color-coded heatmaps provide complete visibility into resource schedules and utilization levels.
In cases of under-utilization, managers can bring forth project timelines or sell excess capacity at discounted rates. In case of over-utilization, they can implement resource leveling and smoothing techniques to adjust the timelines of individual project tasks or deploy additional resources for critical work. Further, managers can identify and mobilize resources to billable/strategic projects and optimize the resource health index.
2.5. Helps future-proof the workforce with forecasting capabilities
In the volatile landscape of modern business, securing an organization’s long-term sustainability is paramount. With BI tools’ advanced forecasting capabilities, managers can anticipate and assess the nature of future project demands. This way, they can determine the skills and competencies to fulfill these requirements.
Based on that, firms can organize appropriate employee training programs such as upskilling, mentoring, shadowing opportunities, and IDP (Individual Development Plan) to bridge the gap. This empowers the resources to cultivate a broader skill set and competencies, enabling the organization to take on multi-faceted projects and maintain a future-ready workforce.
3. Conclusion
As discussed above, business intelligence (BI) empowers organizations to enhance their operational efficiency and steer ahead of the curve. Its ability to turn disparate data into actionable insights enhances strategic planning and fosters growth. Thus, in today’s data-driven world, BI is an indispensable tool for modern businesses.
