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by Joshua Greenbaum, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | For manufacturers looking for an edge, failing to invest in analytical software can lead to disaster. |
Business intelligence is one of those great oxymorons, like bug-free software or airplane food. It's not that business workers aren't intelligent (so hold your letters to the editor, at least for now). But the business culture of this country doesn't value intelligence, as in analysis and introspection, as much as it does action. We've all worked for bosses who have undertaken major strategic shifts based on faith, a finger in the wind and a prayer or two. Sometimes it's the only choice, and sometimes these initiatives succeed. But more often than not, a little intelligence would have yielded a vastly different and more favorable outcome. So I, for one, was heartened to see how intelligent MA readers are in identifying the importance of intelligence. The MA poll published in the Outlook 2005 issue [Special Report, January 2005, p. 24] showed that manufacturing intelligence was second only to ERP as a "will purchase" decision for 2005. The choice of business intelligence wasn't very far behind. And for those evaluating new software and hardware purchases, manufacturing and business intelligence were among the top winners. [Click to continue] |