Business intelligence (BI) Long gone are the days when chief information officers (CIOs) looked first to invest in enterprise software or security technologies. According to analyst Gartner, BI applications will be the top technology priority for CIOs in 2007. Why are technology leaders choosing to concentrate on BI – and how can such systems help the business?

The growing trend to invest in business intelligence systems (BIS) is to be welcomed. However, purchasers should recognise that it is not just an IT system that needs to be planned and budgeted for. To gain real benefits from BIS investment, many of the key corporate processes will need to be re-engineered.

Old silos of non-communication can be broken down by timely provision of information. But this will only happen if the investments in people and processes are made. This involves extensive process re-design, internal communication, training, review of pay and reward systems, data cleansing and reconciliation. IT might provide intelligence, but only a balanced investment in people, process and technology can provide wisdom.

Professor Jim Norton, senior policy adviser, Institute of Directors

Firms invest a huge amount on deploying support systems. In doing so, vast amounts of data pertaining to its business is captured. Typically these operational systems are developed in departmental silos, and make use of tactically deployed BI technologies to extract the data to support operational decision-making at a local level.

CIOs have the responsibility to empower the organisation by providing an accurate performance picture. To this end CIOs recognise the untapped value of data and quite rightly look to BI for the answer.

But technology itself will only solve part of the problem. To make the most effective use of BI, firms should consider the holistic approach, consolidating tactical BI solutions into an enterprise-wide BI service.

This approach helps break down the divisions between different parts of the business, making the goal of one common version of the truth more achievable.

However, the main benefit is to the business. By developing an enterprise-wide BI service with the capability to deliver intelligence at every level of the organisation, powered by a consolidated and consistent source of data, organisations will become more adaptive, more efficient and more competitive.

Denise Plumpton, director of information, The Highways Agency

The shift of focus to BI is a sign of maturity of IT applications and information management. It implies that organisations are building their analytics on a solid and secure base of operational data located in their enterprise systems.

This opens up the possibility of integrated performance tracking that links the critical operational and strategic metrics. It also allows internal and external data to be combined to give an accurate picture of the market demand and sales. The challenge is that providing this capability as an alternative to spreadsheets exposes issues with the quality of the data and its conversion into intelligence.

CIOs will need people with new skill sets to build this BI capability. These may be sourced from IT-literate analysis departments such as market research and management accounting.

Done properly, it offers the opportunity to provide a valued, high-profile and proactive service.

Sharm Manwani, Henley Management College

BI has, until recently been an ambiguous term. The level of maturity of business systems in terms of detail and interoperability has at last made the dream of the corporate dashboard a reality.

BI tools are already essential in some areas of industry and are the key means of ensuring effective operation in competitive markets. BI tools allow for integration of information from all aspects of the business and present a whole that is truly greater than the sum of its parts: a view of the business aligned with its strategic objectives.

Dean Burnell, ICT programme manager, The Football Foundation

Ageism According to recruitment firm The IT Job Board, 72 per cent of UK IT staff believe ageism is more prevalent in the IT sector than other industries. Is the IT industry ageist despite the introduction of the anti-ageism law last year, and how can CIOs use the new legislation to create positive change?

Is it people who are ageist or the IT industry? There seems little doubt that some managers view younger staff as more capable of working with new technologies. Given the choice of having someone who has a short experience in programming a new technology and retraining someone with many years’ experience in an older technology, who would you choose?

While innovation will and should always be valued, there is a large amount of legacy that needs to be managed and enhanced. This will depend more on professional skills gained over a period of time rather than new technologies. The question is whether the stakeholders – staff, employers and agencies – take this view. CIOs have the opportunity to support initiatives such as the Professionalism in IT scheme and encourage this viewpoint.

Sharm Manwani, Henley Management College

I do not think the IT industry is institutionally ageist. I find it hard to believe that a savvy recruiter would fail to recognise the benefits of experience over youth. Society associates youth with entrepreneurialism and I suspect this misconception has remained unchallenged. It is fair to say that the evolution of the IT industry over the past 10 years means IT professionals need to be more business aware.

Adaptability is a key factor in a successful IT career; you have to ensure you have both the correct skillset and the right attitude to demonstrate your worth to potential employers. CIOs should use the new legislation as a lever to actively challenge the stereotypes that exist in the minds of recruiters. When this is combined with the predicted skills shortage in the next five years, I suspect any ageism that exists will disappear through a healthy combination of necessity and enlightenment.

Dean Burnell, ICT programme manager, The Football Foundation

No CIO can do it all themselves, success as a CIO is about getting and exploiting talent. Regardless of the legislation, sensible CIOs look at each candidate as an individual and see if they provide optimal value for the company.

That said, I do accept that a higher proportion of older IT workers have difficulty in finding a role. I am just not sure that this correlation is one of cause and effect.

I see many candidates and, in my experience, older workers are more likely to have skills in outdated or declining technologies, to declare themselves to be geographically immobile or to be unwilling to work the anti-social hours that projects often need. And they are more likely to have high salary expectations.

Candidates who keep their skills current, who declare they are willing to go the extra mile and who put a reasonable market value on their services will find employment regardless of their age.

John Proudlock, transformation director, Vertex Financial Services