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Leverage Cloud while using on-prem systems

Moving to the cloud certainly makes sense from an African business perspective, despite some serious challenges and risk factors unique to these shores. However, not all businesses can take the plunge. Some businesses are reliant on expensive legacy systems that work well for them, while others are dissuaded from the move because of budgetary and…

Investment in business intelligence is crucial for SMBs

Small businesses often face limited resources and tight budgets, which can make it challenging to invest in business intelligence tools and practices. However, making data-driven decisions is essential for the growth and success of any business, regardless of its size. I’ve talked in previous articles about the importance of aligning business strategy with data strategy,…

Pervasive data culture helps organisations optimise data value chain

In today’s data-driven world, companies need to treat data as a strategic asset. Insight Consulting has worked with a large number and variety of organisations for more than a decade, and our experience has shown that successful businesses treat data as a strategic asset, underpinned by a strong data culture which grows, mines and closely…

Qlik: The business intelligence tool of choice – Interview with Director, Upuli de Abrew

Business executives only have 30% insight into the massive lakes of data their organisations produce and harvest, says Insight Consulting Director Upuli De Abrew. She says data only turns into useful information when businesses can make sense of it with active intelligence to derive actionable insights. De Abrew says Qlik is the only true end-to-end…

How to create real value through data analysis – Interview with Director, Sean Taylor

It is widely accepted that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated businesses’ digital transformation strategies. These investments are not made for their own sake, but to have a positive, measurable impact on a business. If one sits down with any C-suite, their reason for embarking on the journey is almost always to unlock value to become…

A business, like a rugby team, needs on-field intelligence to make the right calls – Interview with Alan Swanepoel

As the world comes to terms with the advantages that digitisation has brought to enhance efficiencies and competitiveness, most C-suites understand the value of business intelligence (BI). Simply put, an effective BI solution can save time, money and enable almost real-time decision-making that can have a material impact on a business’s performance. But how does…

Creating a data culture, by Director, Upuli de Abrew

Data is indisputably the foundation for success for any organisation in today’s world. Not very long ago, investing in data and associated management strategies was touted as a way to gain competitive advantage. With the rampant and unceasing growth of data in the world today, data strategies have now become a necessity for survival. The…

Business and data symbiosis: The who and what of data strategy – Interview with Director, Upuli de Abrew

A data strategy should be as organic as a company: growing, changing and moving, responding to environmental and internal forces. With data and associated processes around data having historically been an IT function, it is easy to see why, as data permeates and proliferates the business world, data strategy has naturally fallen into the IT…

SA consultancy reboots multinational contributor to food security in Africa

“End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.” UN, Sustainable Development Goal 2 – Zero Hunger South Africa’s analytical data strategy and business intelligence consultancy, Insight Consulting, is being credited with unleashing operational efficiency at Mauritius headquartered The Meridian Group. The group is the holding company of 23 subsidiaries across Malawi,…

Culture Change: The missing link to successful BI, by Director, Upuli de Abrew

Data culture must be firmly entrenched in the company’s corporate culture and also become a considerable portion of its data strategy. Corporate culture, an overarching term for the shared practices and values of a company’s employees, guides how the employees of a company act, feel and think. It is also the social and psychological environment…