Bi Trends In My Experience

Lots of experts continually publish reports and predictions about the trends for Business Intelligence in the coming years.   Now, I don’t profess to be an expert, but I do have experience.

I have worked with BI (DSS, MIS, EIS, BI&DW, BA, etc) since 1980, initially in a development role, then moving into sales.

If you look at most lists of BI trends for 2016, you will mostly see those listed below, or at least headings that can be interpreted in the same way:

• Self Service

• Customizable Visualizations

• Free Flow of Data

• Affordability

• Centers of Excellence or Competency Centers

• Access to Masses of Data

• Mobile

• Analysis of IOT Data

I have to say that the top 5, or predictions very similar, have figured within the value propositions and unique selling points of most of the companies I have worked with or for since the late 80s.

For me, the biggest changes within BI have come from affordability and the amount of data today’s solutions can access. If some of my clients from 25 to 30 years ago were to evaluate the cost by user and megabyte of data of them being able to report on and analyze data then compared to now, I’m sure they would say “it’s as cheap as chips”.  But, affordability is still always in the top ten.

Technology changes so quickly, both hardware and software, and nowadays they change hand-in-hand, whereas 20 to 25 years ago you had to wait for one to catch up with the other.

Since 1980, the world has got “smaller”, communications expanded to a level that couldn’t have been conceived back in the 80s, and everything is done faster but needed even quicker.

BUT, I think the one trend that no-one ever seems to mention (but that always tops everyone’s wish list), is giving them access to what they don’t know. Whether historic or predictive, if you provide a person with something that they were previously unaware of, or had a view on but couldn’t prove it, then surely that’s what BI is all about?

Agree or disagree with Graham, why not share your thoughts!