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As often as we hear the term "operational BI," fewer of us hear about specific applications or use cases for the technology. In truth, there are any number of areas where information can be put to work to both monitor and manage a business process in the context of daily routines. In our cover story, we see how LexisNexis got its arms around a fast-growing sales force in order to align newly acquired products and services, boost revenue and improve sales performance. Key to this was the construction of a single repository for all compensation information at LexisNexis; a strategy that now exploits the company's enterprise data warehouse for still broader business insight.It was a single customer insight that launched the story told by Gary Class of Wells Fargo. What began with a question from the CFO eventually led to a strategy revolution for the famed San Francisco banking institution, and Class spins the tale like the detective potboiler it resembles.
Jill Dyché returns to BI Review with her profile of Choice Hotels, and gives us our first look at the business value of customer data integration. It's a story that will appeal to any franchise or multi-brand corporation with a "gotcha" moment for what has long been a frustrating lack of simple customer understanding.
We welcome Dan Chow and Andrei Perumal of George Group, who provide a valuable lesson on product proliferation gone wild in financial services. With banks falling over one another with new products to attract retail accounts, the authors point out a lack of vision of both customers and partners downstream that can lessen campaign success.
Bob Dalton of Deloitte Consulting offers some handy takeaway on project portfolio management, which is often the first and last chance to produce the results business looks for from IT. Dalton sees the portfolio not as a series of projects, but a collection of work that reflects the business's values and goals.
The good folks at AMR Research provide their second installment in a three-part series on performance management, this time giving us a look at a metrics architecture that allows us to correct and improve performance shortcomings across the organization.
This month we are moving two of our regular columnists online - available when you receive this issue - and you won't want to miss these exclusives. After reading Howard Spielman's column on gratuitous third-dimensional presentations, don't be surprised if executives order a moratorium on all 3-D chart presentations in your organization! Also online, Bob Charette continues his examination of decision quality, and the effect of the flattened enterprise on internal expertise and overhead strategy-making. As usual, I'd be grateful to hear your comments and suggestions, so feel free to pass them along to me at jim.ericson@sourcemedia.com.
Jim Ericson is editorial director of DM Review, a SourceMedia publication. You can reach him at Jim.Ericson@sourcemedia.com.
