Business intelligence competency centers (BICCs) provide program management for business intelligence, performance management and analytics initiatives. BICCs combine business, IT and analytic skills.
A BICC helps maximize the value of enterprise investments in BI, performance management and analytics projects. Historically, these projects have little coordination or leverage. Thus, an enterprise accumulated many different technologies, prepared small sets of data for small groups of users, duplicated efforts, and followed best practices inconsistently. Users often found that they could not access the information they needed, and ensuring uptake and successful use of the tools and technologies has been a challenge. To address unmet business needs, many enterprises now realize that they must make a BICC a strategic initiative, one driven jointly by the business and the IT organization.
What to Consider Before Starting a BICC
A BICC can lower costs, increase the quality and availability of information and analysis, and help users make better decisions. To achieve these goals, IT and business leaders should first:
Assess the current state, needs and opportunities for BI, analytics and performance management.
Define the business value of a BICC to the enterprise — that is, the specific business objectives to focus on and the business case and funding associated with achieving those objectives.
Scope the priorities of the associated skills, technologies and initiatives for a BICC, and for how to create effective governance.
Identify business sponsors with a strong commitment to the success of BI initiatives, to steer the BICC and charter governance bodies.
Conduct Your BICC Project in Five Phases
Business and IT leaders should take these steps to create a BICC:
Strategize and Plan:
Use Gartner's BI, analytics and performance management framework to define the scope and charter of a BICC and where it will provide business value. Find a business leader to provide sponsorship and governance for the BICC. Define metrics for success.
Assess Current State:
Base-line user satisfaction and the maturity with current initiatives. Define current set of skills and capabilities. Assess technologies, disciplines and markets. Learn about legal and regulatory requirements. Survey current practices, holes and risks.
Assess Competencies:
Create an enterprise metrics framework. Assess siloed, tactical approaches. Assess alignment of current BI programs with enterprise architecture initiatives. Assess current roles, sponsorship, funding and control points for governance.
Implement:
Define a charter, priorities, funding, governance and staffing for the BICC. Write business cases for individual projects. Promote best practices enterprisewide. Implement information infrastructure, and analytic and business decision processes.
Operate and Evolve:
Use governance systems to track and review the operation and success of the BICC. Respond and adapt to new and changing business requirements. Research new approaches and technologies before the business asks for them.
