We all want answers, and we want them now. But in our haste, we sometimes forget that we can’t have answers without first asking questions. Application developers who embark on embedded analytics projects know this intuitively: You must ask the right questions of the business to make sure your development efforts point in the right direction and your product delivers what users really need.
But how can a developer (or anyone) choose the right questions? At last August’s Catalyst Conference, Gartner managing VP Jamie Popkin suggested a helpful framework, dubbed the Four Pillars of Business Analytics. Popkin opined that business goals for applications can’t be met without addressing data, people, process and technology.
Inspired by Popkin’s talk, our own Mark Gamble (@HeyGamble) realized that the Four Pillars framework can also help developers ask better questions – and get better answers – when they develop business analytics applications.
Gamble, Actuate’s Director of Technical Marketing, presented his take on the Four Pillars in a webinar last week. Four Pillars of Business Analytics, now available for free replay, also maps Actuate’s offerings to the Four Pillars. To recap briefly:
- The data pillar requires the ability to connect to disparate data sources regardless of their type and location, and make the resulting virtual data warehouse easy and secure to consume and use.
- The people pillar has two aspects: the people who build and deliver data driven applications, and the people who use them. For the first group, a powerful and open development environment is the key to success. For the second group, self-service that is secure and personal is vital, and the ability to embed analytics in existing applications boosts usage.
- The process pillar supports fact-based decision-making. Different roles make different kinds of decisions, so the ability to leverage the same data to support a variety of processes is key. Think dashboards for operational and executive users, statements and reports for customers, and performance scorecards for departments.
- The technology pillar – arguably the most important, Gamble says – must embrace both flexibility and comprehensiveness. Flexibility to deliver integrate data from any source and embed it in any application, and comprehensiveness to have integrated tools for both development and deployment that are scalable, secure and complete.
Understanding these four pillars helps both developers and users to understand the full context of their business analytics applications, Gamble says – “Not just their individual chart, report or dashboard.” The webinar replay includes a 30-minute live demonstration of the BIRT Designer, BIRT iHub and BIRT Analytics.
When you’re ready to create embedded analytics for your organization, the free Four Pillars of Business Analytics webinar will help you ask the right questions – and provide the answers you need as you address the technology pillar.
Question Mark picture by Véronique Debord-Lazaro.
If you’d like to learn more about the Four Pillars framework, Gartner offers an on-demand webcast with research director Carlie Iodine.