FUTURE TECHNOLOGY chances of success and inspire loyalty . “ In addition , channel partners can benefit from implementing business analytics to increase employee satisfaction , monitor sales pipelines and shorten project delivery times . The applications are endless ,” she said . With so many business analytics tools available in the regional channel , how should channel partners go about with architecting IT infrastructure for successful implementations ?
According to Malkoun , when architecting IT infrastructures for analytics implementation , channel partners should start by evaluating the existing environment , taking into consideration security setups and data flow . “ They should make sure the system is efficient and avoid data redundancy . The infrastructure must-have the power to meet current needs and be scalable to meet expanding needs . In addition , the data processing speed is a major consideration that should be addressed when designing the system as accessing and processing the information in real time or near real time is sometimes crucial in meeting the business needs ,” she advised . “ The system should also be resilient and have failover mechanisms in place in order not to disrupt the business in case of software or hardware failures .”
Stephen Gill , Academic Head , School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences , Heriot-Watt University Dubai
Channel partners can benefit from implementing business analytics to increase employee satisfaction , monitor sales pipelines and shorten project delivery times .
Heriot-Watt ’ s Gill said because business analytics is the process of applying Big Data , statistical analysis and data visualisation to extract meaningful insights needed to make informed business decisions , organisations big or small are turning to these tools in order to have the competitive edge in a highly cutthroat IT industry .
“ Companies across most industries are spawning vast amounts of data which , in turn , has spurred the need for people who know how to interpret and analyse that data ,” he said . “ Some of the ways business analytics can help companies transform include : insight-driven decisionmaking , increased revenues and better operational efficiency .”
He added that deploying the right business analytics strategy is not something that you can achieve overnight . “ However , there are specific best practices that can help ensure that channel partners are successful with their business analytics implementation as much as possible ,” he said . “ These best practices include establishing the business use case and the goal before implementing business analytics , determining the specific criteria for success and failure , validating
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 39
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