ACT 1: Every five years or so, startups create a new class of BI and Analytics software designed to make it easy for Executives and Upper Management to analyze data and create reports and dashboards. The idea is that they will self-serve their data needs instead of relying on their teams.

ACT 2: The software invariably demos well, gets bought, and is deployed. Initially, the Exec, excited about their new toy, creates a few reports and proudly presents them in team meetings, much like a young child displaying their early artwork. Their team, playing the role of protective parents, cheer them on, while their peers smile, nod, and say “super cool,” much like disinterested neighbors trying to be polite.

ACT 3: Soon enough, the Exec stops using the software for one of the following reasons: (1) they simply lose interest and forget about it, (2) when they do remember, they quickly realize they worked so hard and became an Executive to avoid doing this boring stuff and not having to justify decisions with data, or (3) when they do need data to justify an obviously ego-driven decision, the torture required to mangle the data is too much and best left to professionals, a.k.a. data teams.

EPILOGUE: Until, five years later, a new breed of startup emerges …