BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

Business Intelligence Solutions at MTN



Business Intelligence Solutions at MTN

Purpose and Overview of Background

1.1 Explanation of the problem

The current situation in the organization with regards to the core course would be discussed in the research paper. Since 1998, MTN Swaziland has been the only mobile telephone company in Swaziland. Today it has more than 600,000 subscribers, 98% of who are prepaid. In the not so distant future, the government has indicated that it will allow the incumbent fixed line operator to expand on its offering by launching a mobile division. After more than ten years of operating as a single player, MTN needs to gear itself for competition. This calls for a different approach to running the business. Amongst several strategies that MTN has taken in preparation for competition is to ramp up its business intelligence capability. There is no business intelligence functionality within the company.

Each time information is required to give management a view of business performance, it has to be mined through a lengthy and manual process. Raw data has to be mined from various systems before it can be exported into useable formats like excel or access. Random and sporadic business analysis that needs to be performed from time to time whenever the need for certain information is required is a cumbersome process thereby delaying decision making or resulting in wrong decisions being made. As a result, most of the business decisions taken are based on intuition, basic historical trends and many times situations at hand. As a sole player in the country, the business never deemed it necessary to invest in business intelligence and could certainly get away with it under the circumstances. In a competitive market, management cannot afford to second guess the performance of the business, and business intelligence will certainly aid the company in this regard.

Where the problem results from

Having been in a monopolistic situation for over ten years, MTN has not been able to consider business intelligence systems as a means of improving decision making. As mentioned before, a majority of decisions were based on limited information or were situation driven. As a single player offering a service that had overwhelming demand, all MTN had to do is ensure availability. After ten years of robust growth in a small economy, the company maintained a lean operation whilst relying heavily on people. It is safe to say there was an unwritten rule to only invest in what was critical for the time. However, the introduction of another mobile service provider while maintaining profitability calls for a different approach to business. It is not enough to gather accurate and timely data, people need powerful and easy-to-use analysis tools to help them understand context and trends. Business intelligence functions provide people with the insight they need to take quick action and pursue opportunities.

1.2 Problem statement

Stating the problem in simple terms, clearly indicating what it is the ALP intends to solve. MTN has no business intelligence and subsequently business analysis capability ...