here’s nothing quite like a bit of optimism. It can be infectious, at least in the hands of the right people. So it is interesting to see statistics from McKinsey, which reveal that global executives currently have a fairly optimistic view of their local economies, despite the ongoing struggle with Covid-19.

More than half of all executives surveyed say economic conditions in their own countries will be better six months from now, and they are also upbeat about their own companies’ profitability. Clearly they must know something, or maybe they are just being bullish, talking it up and hoping for the best.

For any business, building forecasts demands something a little bit more than a hunch. Whether it’s an understanding of market trends and product performance analysis, or building intelligence on internal performance, businesses need facts, not subjectivity. This is where business intelligence (BI) comes in, and this also where it can get a little complicated. Not that it’s stopped CIOs from investing in new tools. According to the Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO survey 2020, business intelligence (BI) is still a top strategic investment for businesses, with a quarter of CIOs surveyed claiming it sits in their top three most important tech investments.