by Site Staff
March 29, 2005
Information is the currency of modern business. I’m not exactly climbing out on a limb to make that proclamation—learning leaders know the intrinsic value of knowledge and data better than anyone.
Business intelligence, beyond being the name of this magazine’s monthly research column, is the ultimate two-way street for today’s progressive organizations. Information flows in through a variety of sources and is redirected to the appropriate channels, a fast-moving process that strengthens the enterprise and opens new avenues of business.
This month, we’re debuting our 2005 CLO Business Intelligence Industry Report. I’ve read and re-read the massive study several times now, and I’ve gotten a lot more out of it than tired eyes. The 2005 CLO Business Intelligence Industry Report started with the magazine’s Business Intelligence column and has expanded greatly from there. In 2004, we conducted a series of bi-monthly surveys to support that column and formed an executive research panel made up of almost 1,000 CLO readers. Perhaps you are a member.
While top-line results of those surveys have been reported throughout the year, the total sum of the data collected is extraordinary. We have cut the data in various ways and cross-referenced, cross-indexed and cross-analyzed all of the information. The end result is a fascinating view of the issues, ideas, tools, technologies and demographics that power your learning organizations.
Allow me to offer a sneak preview of the final report. The report will first provide a profile of the learning leaders who make up the Business Intelligence Board. This profile provides information regarding the type and size of organizations that are represented, the type and size of learning and development activities managed by board members, as well as the current positions and backgrounds of members. Following the profiling of the Business Intelligence Board, the 2005 Industry Report results are presented in six topics:
- Learning and Development Investment Portfolio: Summary of spending trends in the learning and development industry, with exploration of overall budget trends and the sub-areas projected to receive budget increases in the future.
- Current Learning and Development Challenges: Obstacles faced by the learning and development industry as well as the daily challenges faced by learning executives.
- Governance of Learning and Development: The decision-makers who determine spending priorities and the most prevalent reporting structures of learning and development functions today.
- State of E-Learning: The current and projected future impact of e-learning on learning and development, with special emphases placed on trends across industries and trends regarding internal versus external development of e-learning content.
- State of Technology-Based Simulations: Prevailing opinion of what should be considered technology-based simulations and the perceived value and impact of simulations.
- State of Extended Enterprise Learning: The prevalence of providing training to partners and customers, the structure of extended learning programs and the challenges and benefits of these programs.
We’re pleased to be able to offer this in-depth research report to you. I think you’ll find the data interesting and informative. We have made the Executive Summary of the 2005 CLO Business Intelligence Industry Report available for free to all on our Web site, at www.clomedia.com/2005bizintel. While you’re there, you can order a printed version of the entire report, as well.
I’ll leave you with this bit of information: As a percentage of revenue invested in learning and development, the government spends five times more than the manufacturing sector. How does your industry measure up?
Norm Kamikow
Editor in Chief
norm@CLOmedia.com