I have found that most people will make the same decision
when presented with a fairly complete data set. Improve the
information available to individuals, and they will make
better decisions. Better results will follow.
One of the most significant developments of the last few
years has been the development of databases that sit on top
of the information systems of customers, suppliers,
partners, and the company itself. Business Objects, a
pioneer in business model innovation, has been important in
making these improvements.
These data (called business intelligence) are accessible to
people throughout the information ecosystem that supports
the business (the company, and its customers, partners, and
suppliers), and any business user can ask their own custom
questions and get immediate answers without having to
involve anyone from the information technology staff. This
innovation of shielding business people from the complexity
of the back-end system while opening up access to the
information is helping to drive effective decision-making
down in an organization closer to the customer, and making
the company more competitive.
Although the idea of empowering knowledge workers has been
around for awhile, only in the last few years have business
intelligence solutions turned this potential into reality.
This sort of data integration then fits nicely with the new
communications tools like work sharing programs and e-mails
that can tie together large numbers of people to work on
the same task without being in the same location at the
same time. In addition, many forward-thinking companies are
beginning to deploy business intelligence on mobile
devices, such as PDAs and cell telephones.
The traveling workforces of executives, sales people, and
customer service representatives, as well as line workers
of all kinds, can now always have business intelligence and
communications at their fingertips.
With these two changes, new business models can emerge that
build on human curiosity and intelligence to allow people
to "serve themselves" in a wide variety of markets in the
same way they do now in the supermarket. The rise of
discount broker Charles Schwab on the Internet is a good
example of this trend.
The information that a customer can access on the Schwab
Web site exceeds what a full commission broker could look
at only a few years ago. Schwab has used this linkage of
knowledge and communications to become the market leader in
discount brokerage, even though its trading services are
priced higher than many of its competitors.
Where can you apply improved information to create a more
profitable business model?
Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved
----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an
Optimist, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The
Ultimate Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for
accomplishing 20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .
No comments:
Post a Comment