When Business Intelligence (BI) first came on the scene, it promised a compelling value proposition- leverage information assets to realize tangible, bottom-line results. BI vendors have responded to the allure of BI, offering tools and technologies designed to support increased customer intimacy, supply chain agility, improved responsiveness to market trends, competitive agility, and improved business performance. Despite the technical potential, experience shows that few companies have realized the promise of BI. The Profit Impact of Business Intelligence takes the reader where BI was meant to go. With the focus on BI from a business-not technical-standpoint, this book will help your company plan and execute BI initiatives that will improve profits. Steve Williams and Nancy Williams have taken the lessons learned from working with major companies in a range of industries and developed practical guidance on a range of topics that affect BI success. They explain their methods in easy-to-follow terms that both technical professionals and business-minded professionals alike can appreciate. They provide specific guidance in the form of cases and examples, including a comprehensive explanation of the BI Pathway, a groundbreaking new approach the authors use daily in their successful consulting work, all to help make BI a profitable part of your organization! Features: * A practical, process-oriented book that will help organizations realize the promise of BI * Written by Nancy and Steve Williams, veteran consultants and instructors with hands-on, in the trenches experience in government and corporate business intelligence applications * Will help senior business and IT executives understand the strategic impact of BI and how they can help ensure a strong payoff on BI investments