No one can deny the importance of information in decision making; however, getting the right 'trust worthy' information as and when needed poses a big challenge for decision makers in a large organisation. Information is gained through the interpretation of data when placed within the context of a problem or situation. Data is often dispersed throughout an organisation in multiple systems that an organisation acquires over time, and may become subject to inconsistencies in interpretation and data quality issues, as systems constantly adapt to growing business needs. Best practices in business intelligence (BI) address this "big organisation data problem." In the absence of a proper BI system, getting the right data can be cumbersome and time consuming; by the time data is received for interpretation and analysis it risks being outdated or irrelevant. This presentation follows the successful implementation of a BI system at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine Campus. It presents the BI strategy for the Campus, a BI framework solution that addresses inherent challenges and risks associated with the implementation of a BI system, standards established to support institutionalization of best practices in BI, lessons learnt, preliminary findings, and results.
