Remote-First is Driving a Collaborative Approach to BI

Whether by circumstances, choice or design, remote workOpens a new window has now become a reality for millions. In the Pulse 2020 Remote Work-from-Home Cybersecurity ReportOpens a new window , 84% of the companies surveyed stated they intend to continue to increase their remote work capacity—in many cases permanently.

Many are welcoming this fundamental shift, seeing it as a pivotal time to change how businesses function, while others question its implications. At least one research company has found that remote work has increasedOpens a new window productivity by 47%. Yet an earlier studyOpens a new window by Buffer, a social media solutions company, found that many remote workers can suffer a lack of work/life boundaries, decreased motivation and even loneliness.

To be sure, the elimination of a daily commute can mean more hours for family, work, or even a quick power nap. The flip side of working from home, however, is the need to collaborate effectively. New solutions are required that allow teams, departments, and entire organizations to innovate cooperatively, using information that is relevant and easily shared.

It’s a fact that in this new era of increased remote work when the value of data Opens a new window has never been more important, many businesses are still not data-led. This is both ironic and tragic, given that the world is sailing through unchartered waters. With COVID-19 changing the very fabric of society, understanding is critical—and data is essential for answering questions and making decisions.

Senior executives, in particular, are feeling more disconnected from data than ever before. Is it possible, in a world in which remote work is common, to adapt?

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Collaborative BI and Social BI

One early and positive sign is the advent of Collaborative BI (collaborative business intelligence) or Social Business Intelligence, defined as “the merging of business intelligence software with collaboration toolsOpens a new window .” This new concept is allowing a wide range of people across an enterprise to see, discuss and act in unison on changes and insights discovered in the organization’s business data.

While collaboration may already be occurring among remote workers through Slack, Zoom, Jira and other tools, these platforms don’t support BI. For trust and context to be a part of decision-making, data has to be available—and it has to be shared democratically. Otherwise, these online conversations become watercooler talk.

It’s not enough to simply tell people to “use data more,” either. They must collaborate with the data. For people working from homeOpens a new window , this dynamic has never been more important. Separation leads to disjointed thinking. We must encourage connection in a data-rich environment in order for meaning to be uncovered.

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New Tools Available

The only way for an enterprise to be data-led is if everyone in the organization has access—not only to the data itself, but also to the learnings, insights and actions resulting from that data. Employees can’t move affairs forward fast enough using existing collaborative tools, nor can workers simply distribute information via emailed charts and spreadsheets. Things simply move too fast these days. Furthermore, joint interaction with datasets is often necessary in order for discoveries to be made.

This is why collaborative BI is so important. Traditionally, BI platforms have been designed for a limited few—typically analysts and select line-of-business users. New capabilities and better features, however, are changing the game. Automated business monitoring technologies enable groups of users to see emerging changes in business trends as they happen. AI-powered analytics deliver automated alerts and insight triggers, giving broad numbers of people the ability to not only improve understanding but to disseminate that understanding much faster.

Search-based analytics is another development that is moving collaboration forward. These tools are accessing graphical information, free text, audio, and other forms of unstructured data. Various platforms allow teams to assign tasks, comment/share/like, make data-based demonstrations, and specify timeline notifications.

When groups of people are able to interrogate data in concert, positive things happen. Individuals feed off each other to unearth insights that might not have otherwise occurred. Understanding is increased, and puzzles are solved. Colleagues are able to help each other understand concepts in real time.

With people working from more places than ever before, this kind of shared interaction is more than beneficial; it’s indispensable. Enterprises that wish to make remote work a permanent part of their culture must find and develop a collaborative BI capability. There may be many good reasons for employees to work apart—but in the coming era it will be data, and the shared understanding it can create, that will keep teams working side-by-side.

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