In a recent blog about IT and innovation, the point was made that there are numerous untapped opportunities for IT to become an enabler of the business as opposed to just a cost center to be tolerated. The examples in the blog emphasized that real time intelligence is king: For instance turn a mundane activity at an insurance company such as client’s address change into new selling opportunities by putting the information in context and pushing correlated information to other applications that could drive new sales opportunities. IT becomes an enabler, not just a cost center.
To enact this example, some significant effort would be required to consolidate client data, demographic information, and other sources which would contain polices and sales information per region. It would also include process changes, and alterations to applications to accept real time updates of client information. Undoubtedly a large insurance company would want to trend such movements, making projections about potential sales opportunities. In the current economic climate, such a project might not be viewed favorably despite the potential because the directives from the business are cost cutting.
The approach necessary to enable real time correlation of events for the above example starts with a foundation that includes Information as a Service which requires a strong data federation base. Having a strong data federation base will reduce data redundancy due to the proliferation of database copies. This will in turn reduce the amount of data movement that overwhelms the network during night time operations. Data Federation and Information as a Service also provide the basis for better consolidated views, helping executives to better understand their client base.
Cost cutting and investing in the future are not mutually exclusive, it is a matter of broadening the business perspective followed by articulated strategy and definitive execution. IT has the opportunity to broaden that view with the emerging set of technologies that enable feasible data federation, while supplying enough bandwidth, and correlating events in real time for distribution to subscribers, and this is just one example.
IT must engage the business asking about how leveraging information in real time could help drive revenue, cut costs, defray risk. Every business has a wish list, projects focused on that list can be structured to cut costs while increasing agility. The recession is here, but the need to differentiate cannot be deferred. Real time intelligence will be the tool of those who emerge from the current downturn.
Sheppard & Tony
