SAP Research Library

Although many organizations have made significant investments in data collection and integration (through data warehouses and the like), it is a rare enterprise that can analyze and redeploy its accumulated data to actually drive business performance. Adding to this conundrum is the vast quantity of external data generated on the Internet, where billions of connected individuals use the tools of wikinomics to actively participate in innovation, wealth creation and social interaction. To gain greater business insight and transparency, organizations urgently require a new generation of business intelligence (BI) tools and applications that will allow cross-enterprise, interenterprise and external data to be integrated and analyzed. Companies that are able to effectively harness the copious amounts of information IT systems generate will have the inside track on the competition: gaining better understanding of customer needs, identifying trends earlier, and using the resulting lead time to capitalize on opportunities. In the years to come, as globalization and increased reliance on the Internet further complicate, accelerate and intensify marketplace conditions, actionable business intelligence promises to deliver a formidable competitive advantage to firms that leverage its power.