You may have noticed that our last two webinars have focused on creating what we term "smart" performance metrics. Why should this topic be so important to you?

To begin with, there is the issue of information overload. A survey conducted last year by Gartner Group reports "90 percent of companies believe they suffer from information overload and that their competitiveness is negatively impacted as a result." According to Alexander Linden, Research Director at Gartner Group,  "It is obvious that companies who fail to address information overload will be penalized by lower productivity and the risk of making poor business decisions."

 "It is obvious that companies who fail to address information overload will be penalized by lower productivity and the risk of making poor business decisions." I think we can all agree that too much information is almost as bad as no information.

Ricardo G. Brutocao
CEO, President
Centergistic Solutions

While each of us needs information, we require only what is pertinent to our jobs to manage effectively. What we need, then, is a way of getting to that mission critical information. One way is to use a query tool. These tools let us tap into a huge data warehouse and interrogate the data repetitively until we get to what we need. A better way is to create a set of rules that automate the query process on the front end, filtering the data as it is being produced, and automatically notifying us when the information we requested is generated. While there is value to the query tool, it can be cumbersome and require a sustained effort. Additionally, archiving all of the data only makes it more difficult to get to the data you need. If information is being pulled off its source, however, you will be getting hands on access to exactly what you need, when you need it. When you add to that a set of alert thresholds, you can begin to get a sense of the value behind a smart metric. 

Second, we must consider the fact that we need to analyze information faster than ever before. We no longer have the luxury of waiting for an end-of-month (or even end-of-day) report. Decisions are being made more quickly, especially in the mission critical contact center. We are more often hearing the term "real time" or "zero latency" in conjunction with the emergence of the real time enterprise (RTE). Another recent study from Gartner on the topic of RTE reports, "Real-time is becoming an important competency as businesses fight to retain demanding customers, while coping with economic uncertainty and turbulence. The speed of management's response to narrowing windows of opportunity is a crucial issue." 

Now, let's put it all together. The information produced throughout our businesses will continue to increase. The rapid rate at which information is transmitted will only increase. Without rules and thresholds guarding the information floodgates, we will continue to be bombarded by a lot of disconnected, meaningless data. We can turn our backs on it and keep mining the old-fashioned way, or we can start thinking about steps we can take, as managers, to create a smarter information set across the enterprise.

I hope this helps you appreciate the significance of having the right performance metrics in place. We believe that the more smart metrics you have working for you, the more competitive you will become in the years to come.

About Ricardo G. Brutocao 
Ric Brutocao joined Centergistic Solutions in 1988. Prior to that he served as President, CEO of Logical Data Management, a firm he co-founded which served the then burgeoning Cable TV industry. The technology was eventually sold to Unisys Corporation (NYSE UIS). Ric writes a monthly column for Centergistic's RealTime Reporter, distributed to customers and affiliates worldwide. 

About Centergistic Solutions
Centergistic Solutions is a provider of integrated real time and historical information delivery systems. Our goal is to ensure that diverse information is integrated and available to anyone anywhere, anytime on any medium. To accomplish this, Centergistic Solutions offers software designed to gather data from multiple sources and present this information in dynamic, functional formats. Whether at the office, at home, or on the road, Centergistic gives you the tools you need to stay informed.