In today’s fast-paced business world, being able to analyze data quickly and respond to it could be all that stands between you and the pack or you and the laggards. Operational intelligence (OI) solutions provide organizations the ability to monitor business operations in real-time, detect issues, make decisions with operational intelligence, or seize opportunities as they occur, and respond in real-time.

An operational intelligence platform strategy is necessary for leaders who want to increase efficiency, agility, and data-driven decision-making with operational intelligence. In this article, we will discuss what operational intelligence entails and key capabilities and give a five-step guide to getting started.

What is Operational Intelligence?

Firstly, the term operational intelligence refers to a category of real-time analytics solutions that deliver continuous intelligence to business operations. OI systems collect and analyze live data feeds from across the organization and provide actionable insights to help guide data-driven decisions and responses.

OI differs from traditional business intelligence, which relies on historical reporting, in that it uses real-time data to find out what is going on right now. Some examples are monitoring production lines, sales transactions, supply chain logistics, customer service metrics, IT infrastructure, etc. The trick is to get yourself connected to those live operational data feeds to get an up-to-the-minute view.

Dashboards and visualizations enable the data to be broken down into easily consumed formats so that better decisions may be taken. Built-in alerts also let teams be notified early on about important problems or new prospects.

OI’s main objective is to close blind spots, raise visibility, and use data-driven intelligence to improve procedures. OI lets companies course-correct problems in real time instead of after the fact.

Key Capabilities of Operational Intelligence

What, then, are some of the main advantages OI solutions offer? Firstly, here are some of the most essential features:

Real-Time Data Monitoring

This is the foundation of any OI initiative. The system must connect to live feeds from across the business to monitor operations as they occur. This could include data from sensors, applications, transactions, log files, and more.

Customizable Dashboards

Real-time data visualization that is highly customizable in the form of OI solutions comes in the form of dashboards, which are simple yet powerful graphical formats. Users can customize their views based on what KPIs they want to focus on in their role. Executive dashboards give you a high-level overview and then allow you to drill down as necessary.

Alerting

OI solutions come with built-in alerting capabilities that notify stakeholders as soon as specific thresholds are reached, as soon as specified conditions are found in the data, or through dashboard changes, email, SMS, or mobile push notifications. It facilitates teams looking into matters or exploiting new opportunities right away.

Predictive Analytics

OI platforms use machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to detect patterns within data that will help them forecast possible outcomes. By providing this predictive intelligence, and organizations can see the challenges coming before they occur, as well as the most lucrative opportunities on the horizon.

Automatic Remediation

Beyond only alerting, sophisticated OI systems can start automated reactions to specific events without human involvement. Cybersecurity steps in response to assaults, spinning up more cloud resources to meet traffic spikes, changing manufacturing equipment to prevent weaknesses, and more may all be done here.

Custom Reporting

Users across the business often have unique reporting needs related to OI data. The ability to quickly generate reports filtered and formatted to individual preferences and distributed on a recurring schedule or on demand is essential.

Now that we’ve covered the key capabilities of operational intelligence solutions, let’s explore the step-by-step process to get started.

Steps for Implementing OI in Your Organization: Decision with Operational Intelligence

While operational intelligence adoption varies by industry and use case, these fundamental steps provide a framework applicable across sectors and functions:

Firstly, Define Your OI Objectives

First, clearly identify the challenges you aim to conquer or opportunities to pursue. What key pain points or blind spots will OI help solve? Common objectives include:

• Improving efficiency/throughput of manufacturing operations
• Reducing IT outages
• Minimizing supply chain disruptions
• Boosting sales conversions
• Shortening customer wait times
• And more

Two to three main goals will help to concentrate the effort and direct technological choice.

Secondly, Build Your OI Team

Any successful OI implementation requires the construction of the right team. Get a diverse group of people together across key business units, IT, data science, and relevant technologies. The team should also include members with day-to-day responsibilities when the system is live. While an executive sponsor is a vital leader and budget approver, they should not have day-to-day responsibilities. As an example, business analysts who know the critical processes can influence dashboard KPIs and alert thresholds. The heavy lifting will be done by data engineers who will connect systems, transform data, and build models for analysis. But, during development and championing, users from affected groups should test and provide feedback to increase adoption when launched.

The technical and business needs are met from the start by collaboration across disciplines. Take time to get the team aligned on goals, data requirements, and success metrics. This cross-functional group, with a shared vision and open communication channels, will guide the OI project to the highest business impact.

Inventory Your Data Landscape

Understanding existing data sources is imperative before launching an OI initiative. Key questions include:

• What operational data is currently collected?
• Where does it reside? On-prem systems? Cloud apps?
• How is data structured? Relational databases? Log files?
• What format is stored? SQL, JSON, flat file?
• Who owns it? Finance, Sales, Support, IT/Engineering?
• What are existing analysis processes?
• Are there any gaps? Missing data feeds?

Identify both untapped data reservoirs and pipeline blockers early on.

Prepare Your Data Foundation

With an inventory of existing data in hand, you can now identify required enhancements to feed your OI system:

• Establish more real-time data flows
• Improve throughput volumes
• Enrich data formats
• Upgrade connectivity protocols
• Aggregate disparate sources
• Cleanse data for accuracy
• Standardize taxonomies

Invest time upfront to build a scalable data foundation.

Decision with Operational Intelligence: Start Small, Demonstrate Quick Wins

Furthermore, when ready to implement, start with a limited scope. Identify one high-impact business process to focus your initial OI rollout.

Rather than attempt enterprise-wide adoption on day one, start focused:

• Select your most crucial operational metric
• Target a manageable use case
• Deliver a demonstrable quick win
• Quantify hard metrics to showcase ROI

With a measured win in hand, build confidence, then scale.

nandbox App Builder

A crucial tool for companies wishing to use operational information and make data-driven decisions is nandbox App Builder. Nandbox makes it simple for businesses to develop unique mobile applications without knowing any code, allowing them to get real-time information from their operations and users. Through the integration of real-time data analytics, Nandbox enables companies to monitor performance, optimize workflows, and react promptly to evolving circumstances.

The Power of Operational Intelligence

Fundamentally, an OI strategy takes a data strategy and transforms it into an organization’s strategy. This gives real-time visibility into operations so that issues can be stopped before they become escalated or opportunities are acted upon while still ripe. Defective products do not ship until the production line adjusts. Stockouts are prevented by resolving supply chain hiccups. As wait times increase, the contact centre brings in agents. Security protocols are triggered due to cyber threats before data is compromised.

This constant flow of intelligence helps keep business processes optimized, costs containable, and customer experience exceptional. The OI system is growing in scope as new data sources are added, and business needs are evolving right along with it. Data that once gave hindsight for periodic improvements fuel real-time enhancements. With an OI solution as a partner, the organization develops perpetual learning capabilities to keep strategies sharp.