Is failure an option for you?  Of course not – nobody wants to fail.  Yet why do so many business intelligence initiatives fail?

The lack of a clear, well developed and articulated BI strategy along with appropriate executive sponsorship are among the top reasons why BI initiatives do not achieve their potential or fail outright.

These words are from Bill Hostmann, VP Distinguished Analyst at Gartner.  To this I would add a lack of execution.  You can have a clear, well developed and articulated strategy, but if you don’t execute properly on that strategy, it won’t work. 

Here are a few more reasons why business intelligence initiatives fail:

1. Data quality issues – garbage in, garbage out.  Bad data leads to bad decisions.
2. Inability to adapt – requirements will change as your organization grows and evolves.  Be flexible!
3. Outsourcing – those implementing your BI initiative must understand and have an intimate knowledge of how your company works, its history, policies, practices, and customer demographics.  Intangible capital anyone?

Can you think of other reasons?