GOOD STRATEGY REBELLION

Tag: Business Enablement

  • A Brief History of Data Warehousing – 2026/01/07 – Includes Podcast

    A Brief History of Data Warehousing – 2026/01/07 – Includes Podcast

    Martyn Rhisiart Jones

    Madrid, 7th January 2026

    The origins of data warehousing are often pinned to the late 1980s, when the term “business data warehouse” first appeared in an influential IBM Systems Journal article by researchers Barry Devlin and Paul Murphy. I was based in Birmingham at that time, and I also wrote a similar foundational document on Information Centres for Sperry Univac.

    Yet, as with many technological breakthroughs, the story is far richer and older than the conventional narrative suggests. The foundational components of what we now recognise as a data warehouse were quietly taking shape as early as the 1960s, driven by the need to organise, integrate, and analyse growing volumes of business information in an era of punch cards, magnetic tape, and the first mainframes.

    (more…)
  • Too Much Information

    Too Much Information

    Martyn Richard Jones

    I have questions about data.

    Most of us who have more than a cursory knowledge of the English language have heard of the phrase ‘too much information’. We know what it means, even if we don’t always know when to apply it.

    For those who don’t know, or are unsure, the Urban Dictionary describes ‘too much information’ as “An expression of exasperation and disgust when a person is divulging personal details of his sex life, toilet habits, or anything the listener finds disgusting, uninteresting, and unwelcome.”[1]

    Sum, sum. Just because we know it, doesn’t mean we should share it or even try and remember it, never mind go about analysing the hell out of it.

    This is where Big Data comes in. (more…)

  • Can You Read? Be Honest, Now

    Can You Read? Be Honest, Now

    Martyn Richard Jones

    When you have read this, if indeed you read it all, will I have failed to convey the essence of what I am trying to get at? Will a confusion of entropy win the battle? Will the wheel of fortune turn in my favour, or will I fail to connect and communicate effectively?

    Let’s give it a spin and see what happens. (more…)

  • STRAIGHT TALK: Main cause of IT project failure? – Big Data Informs… 2026 Revamp

    STRAIGHT TALK: Main cause of IT project failure? – Big Data Informs… 2026 Revamp

    We analysed all the big data and discovered that the biggest reason for IT project failure is people – Big Data Informs…

    We had failed at Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence, Core Competence, and quite a few other things, so some bright spark decided to give Big Data a shot.

    The first task was to identify the reasons for IT project failure globally.

    (more…)

  • Nothing achievable is impossible: Challenges, Self-worth and Strategies – 2026 Replay

    Nothing achievable is impossible: Challenges, Self-worth and Strategies – 2026 Replay

    Martyn Richard Jones

    Remastered for 2026

    I came into IT at the tail end of the seventies, joining one of the original computing pioneers.

    It was a conservative company led by veterans, engineers, accountants, and sales professionals, with many ties to the US administration, the Department of Defence, and intelligence agencies.

    My interests at the time were in philosophy, politics and economics. I liked meeting people and talking, and I also enjoyed helping people solve real-life business problems, so I was always engaged with corporate staff and executive management rather than with the real hard-core technicians and engineers.

    The thing is, I had no idea what constrained IT, so I never had that baggage when thinking about solutions.

    (more…)

  • Mugged in Data Hell – Summary – На Бо́га наде́йся, а сам не плоша́й

    Mugged in Data Hell – Summary – На Бо́га наде́йся, а сам не плоша́й

    Martyn Richard Jones

    I wrote a piece titled “Mugged in Data Hell.”

    INTRO

    It told the story of a CIO who was hoodwinked, cajoled, bullied, bribed and patronised into doing the wrong things, continuously.

    As my mate Bill said, “It packs big punches, and doesn’t hold back with the shit-kicking truth”.

    (more…)

  • Creativity – Three Stories – Remastered for 2026

    Creativity – Three Stories – Remastered for 2026

    Martyn Richard Jones

    Remastered for 2026

    Here are three stories that illustrate the connection between creativity and what we do in business. Jack’s Retail Story talks about the expansion of retail business; Jill’s Colour Book Story highlights a hugely pervasive tendency, even in these times; and Martyn’s Summer Story argues that there is a strategic time and place for some things.

    (more…)

  • Aligning Data Warehousing with Corporate Vision – Remaster 2026

    Martyn Richard Jones

    Remaster 2026 – Galicia, Spain

    Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence professionals need to think about how their vision will align with and support the corporate vision. Still, they also need to consider how the Data Warehouse vision aligns with addressing the challenges to the vision of the organisation, as well as taking into account the challenges to the vision of the Data Warehousing team, and also, challenges with any conceptual and informational structuring of the corporate vision, forces/challenges and strategy.

    (more…)

  • Mugged in Data Hell – Perils of embracing the Faustian Side of IT – Part 4 – Remaster 2026

    Mugged in Data Hell – Perils of embracing the Faustian Side of IT – Part 4 – Remaster 2026

    By Martyn Richard Jones

    Continued from Part 3, which can be found here -> Part 3

    “The following week, the full high-powered delegation from The Taffia Connection and BogartSys flies in. It was as if an army had come to do battle with us. Uniformly slick, sullen and tacky. iPhone; laptop; knock-off Marks and Spark’s; check patterns; butt ugly ties; ‘plastique’ shoes; mismatching socks; ‘business’ rucksacks; all weather hoodies; and, worst of all, off-the-peg smirks just begging to be slapped”.

    (more…)

  • Mugged in Data Hell – Perils of embracing the Faustian Side of IT – Part 3

    Mugged in Data Hell – Perils of embracing the Faustian Side of IT – Part 3

    Continued from Part 2 which can be found here -> Part 2

    I look over at Crème, who is now staring out the window watching the rain. I cough, theatrically, for effect. “So, Crème, would you like a rest, or do you want to tell us about what happened next?”

    “Oh, yes” Crème says, “Sorry, I was wandering there for a while”. She continues.

    (more…)