The Intelligent Enterprise: Creating a Culture of Speedy and Efficient Decison Making

Author:

Economist Intelligence Unit

In virtually every industry, success hinges not only on traditional competitive advantages such as a dominant market position, geographical penetration, or even proprietary technology. It also depends on the ability to improve business operations by making rapid, high-quality decisions based on the most timely, relevant and accurate information.

An Economist Intelligence Unit global survey, sponsored by CSC and Oracle, of more than 200 senior executives across a wide range of industries conducted in 2009 found that accurate and timely decision-making ranked on a par with superior executive leadership and innovation as vital ways of creating competitive advantage. Yet this endeavor is more easily grasped in theory than in practice. Only 3% of respondents describe their companies as “experts” in using business data to drive better decisions, and only 27% agree that their company makes better, faster business decisions than their main competitors.

Business performance is increasingly dependent on a firm’s agility and its ability to generate insights regarding the business environment and the consequences of alternative actions. Companies that do this are more adaptable to market changes and thus have a better chance of gaining market share from their competitors.

Download the report, The Intelligent Enterprise: Creating a Culture of Speedy and Efficient Decision Making (PDF).