Many companies capture and regularly apply detailed market and operating data in ways to improve their strategies and decisions. But if many companies can do this, any insight your company may gain can eventually be adopted by competitors. Where is the gain? How can you use business analytics to create sustainable competitive advantage? Preliminary research shows that there are five factors that will help you turn your company’s business analytics into powerful advantages that last. February 2008

By Prof. Tom Davenport;

Summer 2007 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the introduction of the Apple II, the first true personal computer. Driven by a belief that everyone should be able to use a computer, its inventor, Steve Wozniak, pioneered an ingenious combination of low-cost design solutions to create a machine that set the standard for all following PC’s and began a business and societal revolution that is still going on today. What did he learn along the way about how to innovate and create great products, how to spot and work with the most inventive engineers and what are his views about the future of computing? Read our interview with this passionate innovator for answers to these questions and much more. October 2007

Professors Allan Cohen, Jay Rao and BI Staff;

We’ve all used data to make business decisions, but a new approach to analytics is dramatically changing company strategies and the science of decision-making. In his new book Prof. Davenport looks at how companies like Netflix, Capital One, Harrah’s Entertainment and even the Boston Red Sox are changing the game through the use of very focused, data-driven insights that create competitive advantage through better decisions and execution. September 2007

Prof. Tom Davenport & Jeanne Harris;

Recent surveys have shown that few executives are satisfied with the results of their company’s innovation efforts, but in looking closer at this problem Prof. Tom Davenport finds that many companies have a very narrow view toward innovation that fails to identify and manage it as a portfolio in terms of how they source, fund, monitor, and assign responsibility. What are the possible types of innovation that organizations can and should pursue? Read more. April 2006

Prof. Tom Davenport;

Acquisitions in knowledge-intensive businesses are usually hampered by a loss of knowledge and poor employee perception of the target or acquirer. Unfortunately, most integration processes maximize their potential for failure in knowledge business by putting a premium on speed with a resulting negative impact on knowledge transfer and employee perception. Acquisitions will always be a viable strategic option and those who succeed will rethink their integration processes to carefully consider how their strategies affect knowledge and perceptions issues.

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For as long as there have been large companies there have been smaller ones that have succeeded in knocking off their larger foes using innovative ideas. Can large companies create a systematic and sustainable approach to innovation? After studying companies like GE, Texas Instrument and IBM, Dean Mark Rice answers: “Yes, through commitment, clarity of focus, a dedicated organizational structure, portfolio management methods, and building a base of innovative talent”

Mark P. Rice;

Knowledge workers create the innovations and strategies that keep their firms competitive and the economy healthy. One of the biggest problems they face today is the need to manage the overwhelming flow of information that has become a critical component of all day-to-day knowledge work. Here Prof. Tom Davenport reviews important lessons from his recent book, identifying the best practices for improving the way knowledge workers manage their information flow.

Prof. Tom Davenport;

How do you align IT with company goals while also enabling it for success with new resources and development of new capabilities? The methods used to align verses enable are are often opposites. Noted IT expert, Kavin Moody, discusses why there is often a mismatch and provides some new insights on what must be overcome to make things work.

Kavin W. Moody;

How is the IT market changing? What does it takes to succeed in marketing and selling information technology (IT) solutions? Our current study looks at the solutions phenomenon from the customers’ point of view. What types of solutions do they want? How do they want to purchase solutions? What are they looking for in a solutions provider? This Update presents the findings from conversations with 35 executives representing 28 different companies.

Julie Schwartz, Phil Dover, Adnelly Reyes, Mary Beth Bernard;

Driven by changing and more demanding customer needs plus the desire to create differentiation, IT product and services companies are rushing to transform themselves into solutions providers. What will this all mean for your company? How can you get ahead of the curve? Read Professor Dover's initial results and request his full report.

Phil Dover;

Prof. Phil Dover reviews a recent study from ITSMA that identifies the most effective activities for branding IT services today. Read why the research indicates that the most effective activities include creating thought and on-line leadership, internal branding, balancing local and global branding and the impact of demonstrating social responsibility.

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In tough economic times its always easy for a company to hunker down and avoid all risks such as new innovative ideas. Do new ideas in business really matter? Is there an identifiable link between new ideas and company performance? If ideas really do matter, is the current economic draught the result of or lengthened by a lack of the next wave of innovative ideas? Regardless of your opinion new ideas are always popping up in your business and you'll want to be prepared to insure that only the best move forward.

Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak;