Points of View

Big Data - as good as gold, if you can tame the information tsunami The information tsunami they call “Big Data” has swollen in stature in an upsurge that has economists planning for a new economic asset – like currency or gold.  This was the outcome of a report by the World Economic Forum in January 2013.  Big Data is set to have a glittering future with Forbes predicting that it will be a market worth $50 bn by 2017. “Big Data” is neither about size, or databases, and is more about the taming of this surge of information and how companies go about managing, analysing and mining the data.  “One of t... Read more »

Is your business truly prepared to invite a consultant into the professional mix? Although the financial services sector is widely regarded for its ability to bring together teams of dynamic professionals to lead and manage new strategies or product implementations, the organisations which make up this industry often feel the need for rare or exceptional skill sets in order to remain agile in increasingly competitive markets. It is this very need that has enabled the growth of professional consulting over the years, evolving from a niche offering into a vitally important resource to any business seeking to retain a c... Read more »

Understanding the difference and knowing which is relevant to your business Business Process Management (BPM) and Lean Six Sigma are business strategies which seek to improve the quality of process outputs by removing organisational deficiencies and minimising variability. Although these approaches stem from a culture of continuous improvement first devised within the Japanese manufacturing sector, this dedication to driving out defects and improving quality has permeated almost every industry in its own way. Naturally, Ovations’ client base within the financial services market has come to expect the same experien... Read more »

What are the latest trends you are witnessing in the global enterprise sector? Markets are beginning to stabilise and strategic focus is shifting from cost-cutting to renovation. Decisions are enforced globally across these organisations, which are affecting products, processes, structures and IT solutions. How do South African organisations compare to the rest of the world in regards to enterprise architecture? An avenue illustrating the growth of enterprise architecture within South Africa is the vibrant community which actively participates in many of the global collaboration projects. This bodes extremely well for t... Read more »

What are the latest trends you are witnessing in the global enterprise sector? The international markets are going through a period of consolidation resulting in many mergers & acquisitions based on the economic downturn. In tandem with these are the increased regulations drafted to ensure that the events of the past few years do not reoccur. What we are seeing are corporate and industries beginning to aggressively rationalise their IT spend and assets, so as to get rid of all of the unnecessary overhead.   How do South African organisations compare to the rest of the world in regards to enterprise architecture? E... Read more »

Modern technology has equipped the average consumer with a greater level of choice than ever before. The connected nature of the world we live in has fundamentally changed the way in which we interact with the products and services that are available to us, as well as the expectations we place on the organisations responsible for creating them. Now more than ever, the nature and level of demand is set by the buyer. Today, the average man or woman on the street has the power to dictate how and when they wish to be approached when making purchasing decisions, and are quick to disregard businesses that are unwilling to me... Read more »

Gartner states that Organisation politics is one of the main reasons for BPM and specifically BPM Centers of Excellence adoption. One must ask yourself why this is the case given the strong business promise that is associated with BPM. Some of the reasons that we need to explore are: The promise is over-estimated and once business become engaged with the concept this is realised and hence the lack of continued support, or The change management is once again lacking, leading to a lack of buy in, or All the roles and responsibilities of the business, IT and the center of Excellence is not clear, agreed and contrac... Read more »

With a well thought out Employment Equity plan, organisations are able to promote and manage diversity within the workforce – enabling them to service emerging markets. Issued in 1998, the Employment Equity Act seeks to bring balance to the local job market by eliminating discrimination in the workplace. The Act also helps organisations achieve an equitable representation of employees from designated groups using methods such as affirmative action. As part of the Act’s mandate, employment equity and other governmental growth strategies such as Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) have sought to redistribute key pos... Read more »

Why is ERP and CRM so well understood and BPM is somewhat misunderstood? Well ERP projects and programs attack some more well understood business pains… Inventory Control, Sales and Distribution, Customer Service, Responsiveness etc. Now BPM often has some more ethereal promises… Business Agility, Compliance, Process Improvement, and more recently offers Decision Management and Validation. But of what? The global BPM vendors sell a toolkit to deliver on these promises and the BPM consulting companies like ourselves have to lead business and IT down the long road of linking BPM to Enterprise Strategy, demonstratin... Read more »