A short while back I saw that the Aberdeen Group conducted a study that found that organizations using MicroStrategy realized stronger sales growth than peer companies who were not using the BI suite. The full details of the report can be read here in this press release from MicroStrategy, but to highlight the key message:
According to the Aberdeen Group report, customers using MicroStrategy software achieved a 6% increase in sales during the time period as compared to an industry average of a 4% decline in sales revenue. Among large BI vendors in the survey, only MicroStrategy customers experienced significant sales growth.
When I saw this information, I must admit, I wasn't surprised. To me, having been in strategic consulting for years and years I have always known and seen in my client work that when you have the correct inputs for your business then you realize greater success. When I assist organizations with their IT strategy, that strategy is always crafted with an underlying understanding: help the business get to where it wants to go. The IT within an organization must be an enabler.
The same is true for business intelligence efforts inside organizations. The data locked in so many systems and massaged & manipulated in so many Excel worksheets is there to enable the business reach its strategic objectives. Like IT resources though, that data needs to be strategically used. In setting an IT strategy, we start with a "vision", in setting a business intelligence strategy, we start with questions. Key questions you need answered in order to make good strategic decisions.
That is why what the Aberdeen Group study has found makes total sense. Customers realized that 6% growth while others were declining because they were able to make sound decisions against what was happening in the market around them. Their data wasn't stuck in system-silos or it wasn't being misunderstood or it wasn't being analyzed too late. Leverage a tier-one BI solution like MicroStrategy allows them to accurately and quickly understand their market. In today's economic environment, things change quickly; its very volatile. Companies need to become very agile and adaptable. Having a tier-one solution like MicroStrategy, coupled with the ever, important starting point, a Strategic BI Plan that works with the business to identify and articulate the business questions that need answering, will allow your organization to become that nimble agile competitor in your marketplace.
Comments