BI Tool Rationalization
Align business intelligence technologies with skills and culture to increase value from data
Project Overview
A shared services organization realized that the monolithic technologies enabling its business intelligence (BI) capabilities no longer aligned with the demands of the business.
RevGen developed a strategy to improve BI capabilities and implemented it in a phased approach. The solution has driven down costs while improving skill alignment and delivery efficiency.
Client Challenge
Monolithic Technology Restricted Efficiency – Inflexible, multi-layered architecture and technology required multiple steps of development and rigorous regression testing to deliver on internal customer needs.
Limited Resource Options Increased Costs – A relative lack of resource options with the requisite skillset to support the monolithic technology created a single point of failure with existing resources. The cost of other resource options prohibited expanding team capacity.
Existing Solution Couldn’t be Scaled – Planned expansions of data and analytics capabilities were not possible as the limitations with technology, speed to deliver, and resource options proved insurmountable.
Approach
RevGen partnered with the shared services organization to understand the constraints that existing BI technology was causing. In addition, RevGen analyzed the organization’s: total technology portfolio, existing skillsets, and plans for future technology and people development. This combined understanding of the limitations the organization was experiencing and the desired future state allowed RevGen to create recommendations and strategy for replacing the existing BI technology.
Solution
Strategy for Improved BI Capabilities – RevGen developed a strategy that enabled the client to replace the monolithic BI technology with a total BI solution that included technology that better aligned with the client’s skillsets and the rest of it’s enterprise technology portfolio.
Phased Approach to Future State – RevGen planned a phased approach for replacing the existing BI technology by each layer of architecture and across each business domain to limit impact and interruption and allow for efficient regression testing.
Estimated Total Cost of Ownership – RevGen estimated future state total cost of ownership of new BI technology including software licensing, people, and project costs.
Results
Improved Skill Alignment – The new BI technology is better aligned with the client’s current people and skills. It has also helped improve recruiting and hiring of people with the needed skillsets.
Reduced Costs – Client realized lower total cost of ownership in subsequent projects. This validated RevGen’s cost reduction estimates.
Improved Delivery Efficiency – More flexible and efficient technologies allowed the shared service organization to deliver on business needs more quickly and empower new business groups with robust data and analytics capabilities.
