The Case for Business Intelligence (part two)

By George Haldeman

In tough economic times, when competitiveness depends on the optimization of strategy and execution, casino operators continue to turn to BI as a vital tool for smarter, more agile and efficient business decisions. Operators should measure the success of BI and analytics programs on how well they help the business achieve strategic objectives not just the execution of tactical initiatives. Clearly defined business strategies and objectives are critical to the success of any organization in competitive times.

To succeed in executing a sound analytical strategy, operators need a metrics structure that links strategic goals with operational tactics. A broad set of users, in a variety of roles, must be enabled to create analytic content. Those responsible for BI and analytic initiatives need to facilitate the trend by encouraging more people to think like analysts. This enables new models of how the business performs and is particularly important in creating a culture that looks to continuously improve its marketing efforts. We believe business intelligence initiatives includes people, processes and tools that organizes information and analyzes it to improve decisions and manage performance.

BI initiatives must focus on information that’s most relevant to operators and to analysts who handle the company’s business and decision processes. BI presents information in the most usable formats and business users represent the key for successful BI implementations. The company does not benefit if the BI solution provides great information that the users simply don’t use. Therefore, operators should focus most on understanding how BI will fit within the processes they support.

George is a Principal in Strategic Gaming Advisors