Recently, websites and magazines have begun publishing articles in the field of Business Intelligence with increasing use of the term Social BI. A quick internet search also reveals that many vendors have started offering a product called "Social BI" in their product range. So, what is Social BI, and what distinguishes it from the Business Intelligence we're familiar with?
Traditional Business Intelligence is based on extracting data from databases and organizational computing systems to create an integrative and complete picture of what's happening in the organization and enable more calculated and informed decision-making. But as has long been known and highlighted by those in the field of knowledge management, the picture will never be complete, and organizational decisions will not truly be informed without using and relying on the human knowledge accumulated and processed in the minds of the organization's employees.
Social BI is more than just a system. It's a collaborative platform that combines, not only the integration of information and data from organizational systems, but also social Web 2.0 tools that foster sharing among employees: a social network based on the area that the BI system is investigating, blogs, posts, comments, and tweets, all coexisting with the 'dry' data presented by the BI system. The aim is to harness the power of 'organizational intelligence' and business intelligence, creating a richer, more comprehensive picture.
Those involved in knowledge management will undoubtedly wonder what the difference between knowledge management and Social BI is. This is a tricky question, if only because organizational knowledge management systems also champion collaboration and interactivity to reach the most knowledge easily. Knowledge management systems often incorporate data and knowledge drawn from systems and databases, presenting business intelligence and tacit knowledge.
The answer probably lies in the focus of Social BI. While in knowledge management systems, most of the knowledge is based on knowledge accumulated in employees' heads and now documented in the system on documents, articles, meeting summaries, and more, Social BI is predominantly based on integrating and presenting data pulled from computer systems. The sharing/social aspect is just an additional layer. A second difference lies in the fact that in knowledge management systems, knowledge flows from different directions, including from management to employees, as well as formal knowledge flowing in the organization, while in Social BI, it's about employee sharing alone, without any intervention or guiding hand.
In conclusion, Social BI represents another fascinating step in the journey that BI and knowledge management are taking to introduce Web 2.0 tools into the intra-organizational world. It will be exciting to follow and see how much this tool will penetrate the walls of organizations and business companies.
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