In 1996 I started work with a company called Arbor software. I had worked with their flagship product "Essbase" in a previous company and was attracted to the company, it's product and most of all its people. To this day, the team that I worked with at Arbor remains my model of stability, entrepreneurship, leadership and intelligence. I just cannot say what a privilege it was to work with this talented group of people.
What amazes me though looking back over the last 12-14 years is that the landscape for consumers in business intelligence largely has not changed. I remember a sales meeting in Jacksonville in 1996 when the concept of the "analysis gap" was first mentioned. Numerous white papers have been published on this concept since and it has even found mention in a few books.
The part of this that amazes me today is that even now in 2008 companies are still having problems with the basic "blocking and tackling" needed to overcome the analysis gap.
What? How can that be?
What about all of that wonderful technology that came out of the "feature and function" wars of the late 1990s? What about the new "enterprise-wide" profile of most of the BI vendors? Wasn't all that great technology, strategy and enterprise-wide integration supposed to "magically" solve the analysis gap in every corporation that bought into one of these technologies?
Not surprisingly, the answer to that last question is a resounding "NO".
Yes, companies have bought in the speculated value-add that business intelligence solutions provide. Yes, they have spent untold millions of dollars on systems integrations to tie in all manner of data sources to be digested by a wider audience.
Why are people still using spreadsheets? Why are they still asking for static reports from the ERP systems? Why are they still using (for the most part) technologies that were considered "mature" ten years ago?
For the simple fact that most companies know what they've bought. Most also know where their data is stored. They have incorporated consultants to come in and "connect the dots", but they have NOT taken the last step and really taught the business how to use these wonderful new toys (for the most part).
It's kind of like putting together the most beautiful, most powerful Ferrari possible, customizing it completely to who you "think" will be the most likely driver and then never teaching them how to drive. Here are the keys, you should be able to figure out the rest from here.
What would happen in that scenario if the person did not know how to drive? What would happen if they've never seen a car before? What is they were only 2 years old?
That's the case in today's marketplace. There is a new "gap". I call it the "user gap". There is no Kevin Costner to help out here ("build it and they will come"). Nope, just because a system is "there", implemented, integrated and ready to go it does NOT mean everyone is going to jump at the chance to use it.
"If a business intelligence system comes on line in the forest and no one is there to use it - will it make a sound?"
No way.
How do you solve this conundrum? It's easy, call me.
There is a new breed of consultant in the marketplace. I'm a little bit country (I can talk business) and I'm a little bit rock-n-roll (I can play with the "tech" guys too). This isn't your everyday run of the mill consulting either. You can't go to Essbase class and declare your self an "expert" (there does seem to be a lot of that going around).
This consultant is all about guidance, understanding and evangelism. You've got to be all three. The role is really more of a trusted advisor to mid to high level leaders in the company. Let's understand first what you've got. Now, let's figure out how you're using it. OK, who is the target audience of the effort and what's the "gap" between questions one and two?
OK, I'm not going to give away ALL of my secrets here, but here's one. Consultants out there listen up, this is the only thing FREE you will ever get from me.
Start by "SHUTTING UP"!
You don't have to fill each and every silence with your incessant blabbering about how great you are, how much success you've had with your previous customers, the white papers you've published and what Mr. customer is doing "wrong" and what "they should do" (which generally involves more business for you, right?). LISTEN to your customer. Understand THEIR goals (not yours) and help craft a plan to get them there.
OK, advice over.
In closing, there will always be a place in my opinion for the "technical" consultant, but the management consultant not capable of "doing" is a dying breed. Exception to this rule do exist I'm sure (especially in the well-connected government circles), but for the most part we, as consultants, need to provide much, much more that the 0's and 1's that have been our bread and butter for the last few years.
Business intelligence practitioners must more and more be able to perform in the server room, the board room and everywhere in between. That is how to solve the user gap: education, communication, advocacy and good old fashioned training and leg-work.
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