It happens to almost everyone at some point: You arrive at the airport, but your luggage isn’t there. You fill in the lost luggage forms and are told that a response will come some time later.
What if you could get answers right away?
By making the latest tools for data analytics available, Canadian airline WestJet has put the power to address these issues in the hands of its airport employees.
“Data is absolutely critical in helping people from all areas of our business make the right decisions every day,” says Anthony Molle, business intelligence and analytics manager, WestJet. “Now, a station manager at an airport can click on a report, see what’s going on with a plane that has just come in, find out what’s happening with the luggage, keep track of any problems, and be ready to help any guests who can’t find their bags.”
Self-service analytics
Organizations increasingly use business intelligence to drive results based on insights developed from the analysis of large volumes of data.
With traditional tools, end users must rely on the IT and business intelligence teams to pull data and produce reports. New solutions have the capability to provide self-service analytics directly to employees to help them access the information they need to do the best possible job. “We wanted to give them the ability to build analyses and visualize data for themselves,” says Molle. “Our analytics platform gives us the tools we need to find those opportunities for improvement and make the right decisions to turn them into reality.”
The new tools are designed to make it easy for all employees to work with data. These systems provide step-by-step guidance allowing users to drag and drop data from their company’s data warehouse into their own dashboards to uncover operational trends.
At the same time, the new analytics balance the end user experience with the need for organizational control. For example, governance policies to protect the privacy of information, like personnel files, can be built into the system. As well, central storage allows employees to share key findings.
Knowledge is power
Employee access to analytic insights has become necessary in today’s competitive landscape.
As companies undergo digital transformation, these systems can accelerate the pace of innovation by freeing up the IT and business intelligence teams from routine report generation. They ensure that users can get information quickly enough to make timely decisions on critical issues. Sometimes, a few minutes can be too late for time-sensitive processes like making sure that planes land on schedule. Moreover, the new business intelligence solutions provide employees with the data they need to make informed decisions and to get ahead of the curve.
“The more useful insight we can give our people, the better the results for our employees, our company, and most importantly, our guests,” says Molle.
To learn more about self-service analytics, download the white paper by Blue Hill Research “IBM Cognos Analytics: Converged and Governed Analytics for the Masses”
