Intelligence, a term we use to call someone who has a "privileged mind" given that they have the ability to learn, understand, reason and make decisions, among other things, in a way that is superior to others. This term naturally creates a gap between people who have and do not have “intelligence”. However, at present, the term "Intelligence" can be associated with different theories, which have allowed us to conceptualize this term in a broad and different way, such as the "Multiple Intelligences" theory, which mentions eight different types of intelligence such as: linguistic-verbal, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, musical, corporal-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal and naturalistic. Therefore, we can arrive at the reasoning that we are all "intelligent" in some way.
It is then that a very interesting approach arises in my mind, if organizations are made up of "intelligent" people and added to this, we find organizations immersed in the digital age, would that be enough to call an organization "intelligent"?; Without a doubt, it is a question that would put several of us in trouble, since, if that reasoning were completely true, all organizations would function properly and all their problems would end.
That is why this article will address the topic of Business Intelligence, briefly explaining the term and its characteristics, so that, at the end of this, we can firmly answer the question posed above.
BACKGROUND
(Tello & Velasco, 2015) explain that knowledge arises when an entity carries out the perception that its own experience and capacity has given it the possibility of interpreting information that it is receiving at a certain time. Knowledge derives from information, just as information derives from data. There is a direct relationship between data, information and knowledge. If the information is transformed into knowledge, then the intervention of an intelligent entity has occurred. Knowledge-generating actions occur in human beings. Information and communication technologies (ICT), despite their ability to process data and create information, cannot create knowledge; this is only possible from the intervention of a human being.
The competitiveness of companies considers it important that they learn and that over time they can replicate the knowledge that is concentrated in them from the different agents involved in their operation, which may be employees, managers, clients, etc. The companies that are intelligent will be those that, through the use of strategies based on knowledge, develop business intelligence actions, or, in other words, that are capable of learning from their members and sustaining this knowledge for the generation and transfer of value.
The elements on which the conceptualization of business intelligence is based are information systems, innovation mechanisms and decision-making processes.
Knowledge is the most difficult strategy to imitate. Those tactics that are based on replicating the elements supported by strategies on fixed and financial assets -such as machinery and equipment, facilities and land, as well as financial capital-, or in the same way those that seek to generate resources similar to the competition -such as for example, the generation of brand, image and reputation, access to sources of supply and commercial relationships, are relatively simpler to replicate and thus eliminate the competitive advantage.
However, the actions that are outlined as knowledge of the company - or in this case as business intelligence - are divided into: experience and values, skills and abilities. They become characteristics that are difficult to match, which to a great extent provide competitive advantages to companies or organizations that seek to strengthen these areas of opportunity.
Likewise, it is established that the main source of lasting competitive advantage of the company resides in the set of information, which when analyzed facilitates certain knowledge. And when these companies are capable of constantly creating, applying and replicating this specific knowledge, the organizational guidelines are established that allow them to achieve strategic objectives in their competitive approach.
It is in this new field of the knowledge economy that the value of intangibles is promoted as the center of business actions and strategies; Knowledge management has become one of the main research topics and the management paradigm par excellence in the field of organization and management of business institutions.
The emergence and growing importance of knowledge as a factor of production makes the development of technologies, methodologies, innovation and strategies for its measurement, creation and dissemination a priority in organizations in the new name of the knowledge society. However, it can also be considered that it has been precisely their development that has made knowledge an indispensable element for economic and social development.
From knowledge management, the concept of business intelligence (Business Intelligence, business intelligence or business intelligence) arises; This is the name given to the set of strategies, actions and tools focused on the administration and creation of knowledge through the analysis of existing data in an organization.
It is precisely in knowledge management where these strategies are based that allow to follow a set of actions that the intelligent company can undertake, and that give it an advantage over its competitors, mainly because the value added to the services or products that are a consequence of These actions develop an efficiency in their production and an efficiency in their operation that can hardly be replicated by those that do not have these processes or defined strategies.
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
(SCIIS, 2015) explain that Business Intelligence refers to the process of converting data into knowledge and knowledge into actions to create the competitive advantage of the business.
According to the Data Warehouse Institute, Business Intelligence or BI (Business Intelligence) for its acronym in English, is defined as the combination of technologies, tools and processes that allow the transformation of stored data into information, this information into knowledge and this knowledge aimed at A plan or a commercial strategy will allow optimizing the use of resources, monitoring the fulfillment of the organization's objectives and the ability to make good decisions in order to obtain better results.
(Parrilla, 2014) explains that if an organization wants to be competitive and have prolonged success in its performance, in the 21st century, it has to be an intelligent organization and the way to achieve this is by using the model suggested by the author in his respective book, which will be shown below:
Model of the Intelligence of the company in the XXI century
(Tello & Velasco, 2015) argue that the operations that are involved with information systems, with innovation processes and with the development of procedures to generate an intelligent decision-making process are specifically defined as business intelligence actions.
- Information systems are defined as the electronic elements of information management; their influence on business processes and their practical implications for the generation of knowledge. In this way, they are the different systems that are being used to carry out the operation of the company.Innovation is defined as the actions or operations that promote the improvement of any of the products or services that the company produces, and these may be technological, operational, administrative or business strategy type. Likewise are the promotion policies that the company has to carry out assessment of processes, products, people in the organization and the accumulation or concentration of information in its production processes.Decision-making processes are defined as the way in which management determines the actions to be followed, if these are prepared based on a pre-established methodology or if there are guidelines that support the evaluation of their results. They are the mechanisms, documents, processes and policies that promote intelligent decision-making in the organization.
BENEFITS OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
(Oracle, 2016) mentions that the benefits that Business Intelligence can bring can be the following:
- Managing growth - The challenge for companies is to evolve, it is to grow and this means “change”. How agile are my processes to face changes and the specific needs of the company.Cost control - Cost management is the trigger that forces many companies to consider a business intelligence solution, to have the ability to measure expenses and see this at a level of detail that identifies the line of business, product, cost center, among others. Better understand customers - Companies store tons of valuable information related to their customers. The challenge is to transform this information into knowledge and this knowledge aimed at commercial management that represents some type of profit for the company. Cross selling, incremental selling, customer retention,anticipating new opportunities, measuring the effectiveness of campaigns and identifying purchasing patterns and / or customer behavior make business intelligence a vital element to achieve the company's objectives. Management indicators - Performance indicators allow me to represent measures focused on organizational performance with the ability to represent the organizational strategy in objectives, metrics, initiatives and tasks directed to a group and / or individuals in the organization. Within the functional capabilities of the management indicators we can mention: monitoring, analysis and administration.Measuring the effectiveness of campaigns and identifying purchasing patterns and / or customer behavior make business intelligence a vital element to achieve the company's objectives Management Indicators - Performance indicators allow me to represent performance-focused measures organizational with the ability to represent the organizational strategy in objectives, metrics, initiatives and tasks directed to a group and / or individuals in the organization. Within the functional capabilities of the management indicators we can mention: monitoring, analysis and administration.Measuring the effectiveness of campaigns and identifying purchasing patterns and / or customer behavior make business intelligence a vital element to achieve the company's objectives Management Indicators - Performance indicators allow me to represent performance-focused measures organizational with the ability to represent the organizational strategy in objectives, metrics, initiatives and tasks directed to a group and / or individuals in the organization. Within the functional capabilities of the management indicators we can mention: monitoring, analysis and administration.initiatives and tasks directed at a group and / or individuals in the organization. Within the functional capabilities of the management indicators we can mention: monitoring, analysis and administration.initiatives and tasks directed at a group and / or individuals in the organization. Within the functional capabilities of the management indicators we can mention: monitoring, analysis and administration.
It "monitors" critical business processes and activities using metrics that alert me to a potential problem or any action that I must take. "Analyze" the root of problems by exploring information from multiple perspectives at various levels of detail.
"Manages" resources and processes to direct decision making, optimize performance. This allows us to have a global vision of the company with the ability to steer the organization in the right direction.
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE PROCESS
(Valverde, 2016) mentions in his video that Business Intelligence is composed of five phases:
- Direct and Plan: By means of a group of analysts the requirements of the organization are determined and thus achieve the objectives Information collection: Information is collected through databases to achieve the expected results Data processing: All data must be in the same format, to be analyzed. Analysis and Production: Creation of personalized reports that provide relevant data and indicators to know the direction to follow. Dissemination: Reports are generated for interpretation, courses of action are drawn and managed.
(Martínez, 2010) explains that there is a general framework to relate technology and management from business intelligence initiatives, this framework suggests that companies align their business intelligence initiatives at four levels, where each of the Layers affect the others, and the maximum benefit from a BI initiative is only achieved if the business understands how the layers work together. This is extremely important in light of the results observed in this type of project where, for example, it is of little use to have an infrastructure if there is no business intelligence functionality that uses it. Likewise, it makes no sense to apply business intelligence in a way that does not involve management methods and organizational culture.
Next, the author's proposal will be graphically displayed within the Business Intelligence framework.
Business Intelligence Framework
- Infrastructure layer: In general, this is where data is collected, integrated and made available to analytical applications. Under normal conditions this is done by a data warehouse fed by extraction, transformation and loading processes. However, there are scenarios in which a closer real-time approximation is sought and therefore an Operational Data Store ODS can be included linked to the operational flows. Functionality layer: The functionality layer consists of Business Intelligence applications and platforms as well as query tools. Since generally no tool is capable of supporting the wide spectrum of business requirements, it is usually necessary to define a portfolio of BI applications.Each of these applications serves one or more specific needs within a domain of the company.Organization layer: Organizational characteristics drive which business intelligence functions are necessary and equally important, how they are implemented. Businesses need to consider several concerns:
- How mature is performance management? That is, the company is ready to apply a methodology such as balanced scorecard, or instead they need to improve planning and control in a simpler way. ¿ What is the primary focus of business intelligence? That is, if you seek to respond to operational, tactical or strategic concerns, how is the informational culture lived in the company? What analytical skills does the company have? That is, what is the information used for? It is used to make decisions, plan the company, communicate or it is only to meet requirements.
- What types of user are identified and how should they be provided with information? Scheduled information, on demand, static reports, etc. As will be presented later, the business intelligence maturity model condenses these concerns in a certain way by explaining the existence of various levels of business intelligence in an organization.Business trend layer: In this layer the context of the organization, as well as the technological context to keep the business intelligence solution current within the company.
TOOLS USED IN BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
(Martínez, 2010) mentions that some elements that can make up Business Intelligence that will be shown below:
| BUSINESS MANAGEMENT | TECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATION | |
| (PROCESS: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT)
Strategy formulation • Balanced Scorecard Strategic Maps Understanding the Business Understanding Paradigms Organizational • Systemic thinking • Complex thinking Support Theories |
Data Extraction and Integration
• Extraction Applications Transformation and Loading (ETL) Data storage • Database management systems (DBMS) o Related databases (RDBMS) o Multidimensional databases Data processing • OLTP |
|
| Performance Management Techniques
• ABC Cost based on activity • BPM Management by business processes • BPM-CPM-EPM Business performance management, corporate, business • Decision making (PROCESS: TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT) • Software Engineering (PROCESS: PROJECT MANAGEMENT) • Decision making Basic Sciences and Theories: • Information Theory • Communication theory • Cybernetics • Organizational thinking |
• OLAP
• Data mining Presentation and Distribution of Information • Reports • Reports • Dashboards • Intranet and Extranets Basic Sciences and Theories: • Algorithmic and programming • Probability and statistics. |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND THESIS THEME
I thank God for all his blessings, also for the opportunity to work in the process of improving myself. I thank my parents for supporting me at all times in this new adventure, the National Council of Science and Technology for their support in my postgraduate studies, the Orizaba Technological Institute, the Master of Administrative Engineering, as well as the subject of Fundamentals of Administrative Engineering, for providing me with the necessary bases to be better as a professional and human being.
REFERENCES CONSULTED
Martínez, J. (2010). Business Intelligence as a Tool for Strategic Decision Making in companies. Analysis of its Applicability in the Colombian Corporate Context. National University of Colombia, Bogotá. Retrieved from
Oracle. (2016). Business intelligence. Retrieved May 16, 2017, from
Parrilla, JMR (2014). How to Make Your Business Smart: Business Intelligence at your fingertips. Grupo Editorial Patria.
SCIIS. (2015). Introduction to Business Intelligence. Retrieved from http://sci2s.ugr.es/sites/default/files/files/Teaching/GraduatesCourses/InteligenciaDeNegoci o / Tema01-Introduccion% 20a% 20la% 20Inteligencia% 20de% 20negocio% 202015-16.pdf
Tello, EA, & Velasco, JMP (2015). Business Intelligence: Strategy for the Development of Competitiveness in Technology-Based Companies in Tijuana, BC Contaduría y Administración, 61 (1), 127–158.
Valverde, SP (2016). BI Business Intelligence. Recovered from
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