I am getting increasingly sick of acronyms, and believe that most of them are created as repackaging and selling tools more than as a means of pneumonic memorization or useful shorthand. BAO, which stands for "Business Analytics And Observation" is being touted as a phenomenon unto itself by the likes of IBM and other giant firms who cater to the larger-sized businesses, or consulting firms who seek a Fortune 500 caliber clientele, who are flush with budget funds for expenditures which may not be immediately tied (via cause and effect) to results.
Here it is: BAO - Business Analytics And Observation. It's pleasant, sounds faintly Brazilian, and is somewhat redundant.
As an interesting analytic sidebar of my own, I've noticed that these acronyms are created by companies which were once in the manufacturing (production) sector or involved in rendering a specif professional service, such as accounting, auditing or systems analysis; and they tend to be used by every employee and consultant inhabiting the C-Suite of every size and scale of business in order to impress.
Thus BAO, or Business Analytics And Optimization has now become a field of subspecialization unto itself. Those of us in the businesses of raising venture capital, business planning and project management had best learn about this hybrid field, lest we be left behind in the ever-more-competitive pursuit of employment, contracts, clients and capital.
IBM has a well-prepared and informative video about BAO. While I believe that it is a very thinly-veiled sales pitch, I believe that it should be required viewing for every reader of The Business And Project Planning And Management Blog, The Global Futurist Blog and any of my other blogs.
On the lighter side, I do believe that the old saying that I grew up with as a Baby Boomer needs to be amended to reflect today's international and multi-level obsession with acronyms in lieu of knowledge, utility and literacy:
Douglas E. Castle says: "If you can't win them over with substance, assault them with acronyms!"
Click on the button below to see the IBM/ Cognos presentation:
Douglas E. Castle
p.s. The name of my pet personal blog is The Daily Burst Of Brilliance. It's not daily, and it's not necessarily brilliant -- but it's wonderful to aim high.
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