http://www.sajim.co.za/training.main.4nr4.asp?print=1


   
  Training Vol.4(4) December 2002

Information Management Training 
Adeline du Toit 
asadt@lw.rau.ac.za  

Business intelligence, also referred to as corporate or competitive intelligence, is an 
emerging discipline that has become increasingly important in the business arena since the 
early 1980s. Although its practical origins date back many decades, its intellectual origins 
can be attributed to Harvard professor, Michael Porter, when in 1980 he used the technique 
of competitive intelligence to analyse industries and competitors. A possible explanation for 
this emerging discipline is the information explosion characterized by the increasing 
availability of information itself, as reflected in the proliferation of commercial databases 
worldwide. Other causes of this growth are possibly the very nature of the times in which we 
now live – times of great worldwide political and social changes, the increasing pace of 
business, increased global competition from new competitors, more aggressive competition 
and rapid technological changes. 

Cognos Business Intelligence University (BIU) is a unique programme designed to teach 
decision makers how to positively impact the bottom line by using business intelligence 
solutions for strategic and daily decision making across the enterprise. At BIU, 
multidimensional managers take ownership of their results – it is their analysis and decision 
making, supported by business intelligence solutions, which grow revenues and drive down 
costs. Ultimately, the experience underscores the profit opportunity when a business operates 
as a coordinated enterprise where organizational speed and effectiveness are enhanced by 
linking and sharing key performance metrics across functional silos. 

BIU is an executive MBA-like course that teaches business process management theory such 
as the use of key performance indicators (KPI) and balanced scorecards through the use of 
business intelligence tools. 

'Over the last two years, hundreds of senior executives from enterprises such as Johnson and 
Johnson, Pfizer, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Timberland, and the US Navy have attended BI 
University', states Alan Rottenberg, Cognos' Senior Vice President, Marketing and Business 
Strategy. 

Cognos announced on 31 October 2002 that it has received the highest ranking in the SPEX 
comparative business intelligence product review. Receiving an 'outstanding' designation 
from SPEX, a division of META Group, Cognos was tested for functionality, usability, and 
overall technology and market strength along with seven leading business intelligence 
solutions, including Crystal, Brio, MicroStrategy, Hyperion, IBI and Actuate. 

In South Africa, PQ Business Intelligence, a division of Q Data Consulting, has been 
appointed to run Cognos' Business Intelligence University (BIU). PQ Business Intelligence 
(PQBI) runs the two-day course every two months in Cape Town and Johannesburg. 

Participation in the class is limited to 16 students, who are divided into four teams of four, 



with the teams effectively competing with each other.

Students employ Cognos' 24 Best Practices to coordinate decisions across marketing, sales, 
purchasing, production, distribution, customer service, human resources and administration, 
and information technology. Each team submits its decisions and observes their impact on 
each of four fiscal quarters. This allows students to experience first-hand the effects of their 
decisions on the bottom line. 

Further information contact Gill Staniland at 082 452 2076 or visit the Cognos Web site at 
www.cognos.com.  

  

  

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ISSN 1560-683X

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