Test Your e-Business Intelligence Quotient

1. In my organization, the following types of people have access to corporate data (sales, customer information, financial metrics, human resources, manufacturing, etc.):

a. IT/IS staff for system maintenance and development only
b. Designated power users and their direct support teams, primarily for reporting
c. All relevant employees, regardless of role or location, through self-service platforms with role-based access controls
d. Do not know/does not apply

2. People in my organization feel that:

a. They are empowered to make decisions, but often lack timely or comprehensive data, requiring manual data requests or workarounds.
b. They can generally access the basic information needed for their day-to-day decisions, though some critical or real-time insights may be missing.
c. They have immediate, comprehensive access to all the corporate information and analytical tools necessary to make data-driven decisions confidently.
d. Do not know/does not apply

3. In our organization, information is:

a. Rarely, if ever, disseminated proactively, requiring specific requests.
b. Shared on an as-needed basis, often through manual reports or departmental silos.
c. Widely communicated, shared, and accessible throughout the company, often through centralized, cloud-based platforms and dashboards.
d. Do not know/does not apply

4. Users in our company leverage corporate data (sales, customer, inventory, manufacturing, finance, etc.):

a. Primarily for historical reporting and basic operational tracking.
b. To understand past performance and react to trends, with some limited forecasting.
c. To proactively predict future trends, identify opportunities, optimize processes using AI/ML insights, and strategically drive business growth.
d. Do not know/does not apply

5. We share our information systems or relevant data with external parties:

a. Only internally, within our direct organizational boundaries.
b. With key customers or partners through limited, secure portals or manual exchanges.
c. Extensively and securely with customers, partners, and suppliers via integrated cloud platforms, APIs, or collaborative data environments.
d. Do not know/does not apply

6. We primarily use corporate data to:

a. Generate standard reports on business operations.
b. Identify and manage exceptions as they occur, often after the fact.
c. Continuously monitor, analyze, and automate the transformation of operational business processes through predictive analytics and AI-driven workflows.
d. Do not know/does not apply

7. My view of customers' activities and interactions is:

a. Limited to isolated touchpoints within my specific department or system.
b. I can see a majority of customer activities, but integrating data across different systems for a complete view is challenging.
c. 360º—I have a unified view of all customer activities and interactions across all touchpoints, including subsidiaries, strategic business units, and digital channels, often enriched by AI-driven insights.
d. Do not know/does not apply

8. In my estimation, people in my organization can access the following percentage of the relevant data they need for their roles:

a. 0–33 percent, leading to frequent data bottlenecks and reliance on a few specialists.
b. 34–66 percent, requiring some manual effort or requesting data from others.
c. 67–100 percent, with most data easily discoverable and accessible through self-service tools.
d. Do not know/does not apply

9. The quality of the data that I can access in our information systems is:

a. Poor, often inconsistent, incomplete, or inaccurate, leading to distrust and rework.
b. Adequate for basic operations, but requires significant cleansing or validation for advanced analytics.
c. Excellent, with robust data governance, automated validation, and high reliability for critical decision-making.
d. Do not know/does not apply

10. We make use of key performance indicators (KPIs) (e.g., sales, inventory, finance, manufacturing, customer satisfaction, employee engagement) to manage our business:

a. Not at all, or only informally.
b. A little, focusing on a few traditional financial or operational metrics.
c. Extensively, tracking a comprehensive suite of real-time and predictive KPIs across all business functions, often visualized in interactive dashboards.
d. Do not know/does not apply

11. The indicators we track primarily include:

a. Financial metrics only.
b. Financial and customer-related metrics only.
c. A balanced scorecard approach including financial, customer, internal business process, organizational learning & growth, and sustainability indicators, often with AI-driven anomaly detection.
d. Do not know/does not apply

12. Our information systems:

a. Primarily present only information captured internally, within our on-premise systems.
b. Present internal information, occasionally enriched with publicly available or manually purchased market data.
c. Present internal information seamlessly integrated and enriched with diverse external market data, social media insights, competitive intelligence, and partner/supplier data, often using cloud-based data lakes.
d. Do not know/does not apply

13. Our Web clickstream data (or digital interaction data from websites/apps):

a. Is used only by IT staff for server performance monitoring and basic website traffic analysis.
b. Is presented to business users in static reports, but not easily integrated with other customer data.
c. Is integrated in real-time with customer profiles, preferences, historical purchase data, and used for personalized experiences, marketing optimization, and AI-driven recommendations.
d. Do not know/does not apply

14. Regarding customer self-service capabilities (e.g., direct access to account info, orders, support tickets):

a. We are not planning to offer comprehensive self-service options.
b. We are planning or are in the early stages of implementing some self-service portals.
c. We already have robust, AI-enhanced self-service portals and mobile apps, minimizing manual support interactions.
d. Do not know/does not apply

15. Regarding supply chain management and collaboration with partners:

a. We primarily rely on manual communication and traditional methods.
b. We are planning or have implemented limited digital collaboration tools or extranets for specific partners.
c. We utilize integrated digital supply chain platforms, leveraging real-time data, AI for demand forecasting, and collaborative planning with all key partners.
d. Do not know/does not apply

16. We monetize or exchange the information we have with others in our market (e.g., data partnerships, industry consortia):

a. Never. We view our data solely as an internal asset.
b. Maybe sometime in the future, if a clear business case emerges.
c. Already do, through secure data-sharing agreements, industry benchmarks, or data marketplaces, in compliance with privacy regulations.
d. Do not know/does not apply

17. Our information privacy and data security policy (including compliance with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, etc.) is:

a. Nonexistent or informal.
b. Written, but implementation is inconsistent across departments, or it's not regularly updated.
c. Written, well-implemented, regularly audited, and actively enforced with robust security measures (e.g., encryption, access logs) and employee training.
d. Do not know/does not apply

18. Our view on digital marketplaces, industry platforms, or collaborative ecosystems is:

a. Wait and see; we're hesitant to engage.
b. We are actively participating as a buyer or seller on some relevant platforms.
c. We are actively building or leading collaborative digital ecosystems, leveraging our data and capabilities within broader networks.
d. Do not know/does not apply

19. The data in our information systems that I can access is:

a. Stale: old and out-of-date by the time I get it, often requiring significant manual refresh.
b. Reasonable: not always real-time, but recent enough for most daily operational needs.
c. Fresh: near real-time or streaming, enabling immediate decision-making and automated actions.
d. Do not know/does not apply

20. I learn about critical exceptions or anomalies in the metrics I track:

a. One month or more later, often from consolidated reports.
b. One week later, typically through weekly summaries or manual review.
c. Within minutes or hours of the event occurring, often through automated alerts or dashboards.
d. Do not know/does not apply

21. I am automatically notified when exceptions or significant anomalies occur in the metrics (e.g., sales drop, production halt, security breach):

a. No. No such automated system has been implemented.
b. On a regular frequency (e.g., daily summary, weekly digest) for certain metrics.
c. Immediately, with the event triggering a real-time notification (e.g., email, SMS, collaboration tool alert) or an automated response via AI.
d. Do not know/does not apply

22. I can analyze corporate information:

a. Primarily via static reports (e.g., PDFs, printed documents) only.
b. By selecting parameters in pre-defined online reports (e.g., dropdowns, basic filters).
c. With ad-hoc, self-service access to raw and aggregated data, allowing me to query, build custom reports, perform advanced analytics, and leverage AI-powered insights (e.g., natural language query).
d. Do not know/does not apply

23. I can access corporate information (data, reports, dashboards):

a. Only when physically in the office, using a company-issued device connected to the internal network.
b. From the office, or remotely via VPN/secure portal on a company-issued computer.
c. From anywhere in the world, on any authorized device (company or personal), via secure cloud-based platforms and mobile applications, often with offline capabilities.
d. Do not know/does not apply