BI Works for Your Business Only When You Do It Right
As the world moves towards an economy based on information, the ability to collect and analyze data has become crucial for companies. Analytical solutions for Business Intelligence (BI) already offer this option but the use of BI will soon experience a radical change, caused by the “big storm” of the technological revolution.
The BI theory is more relevant than ever. The strategy consulting firms and software companies have also understood – they all develop computer tools for decision support. BI tools compile and restore all the information digested and analyzed in reports and dashboards, both analytical and forward-looking.
BI is more than just software
BI is more than just software, but rather describes a set of processes and technologies for simplifying and improving the use of key information within a company.
BI data are collected from different systems in a company, whether it is ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), accounting systems, or other personal productivity tools. The data is then cleaned, standardized and communicated to users.
Companies are likely to have a dashboard from the most relevant indicators to manage the performance of their organization. This ensures the establishment of an objective and proactive management focused on achieving results.
Key benefits of BI
- BI aligns an organization around a coherent set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and measures.
- BI accelerates of decision-making based on facts.
- BI simplifies the graphical presentation of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and decision analysis parameters.
- BI uniformly presents reliable information.
- BI combines several data sources (ERP, CRM, accounting systems, spreadsheets, budgets …) all in one screen.
- BI enables the acceleration of the collection and dissemination of information.
BI works only when you do it right
“Business Intelligence (BI) has gained a lot of attention, but many people don’t actually understand the topic. Business intelligence software can seem daunting if you’re unsure how it fits into a company. That’s why BI has been stuck in limbo—lots of attention but not a lot of use or action.
In other words, most businesses have a low Business Intelligence Quotient, or B.I.Q. To improve your B.I.Q., you have to understand how BI software works, what its advantages are, and what software options are available for your business.” (Amanda DiSilvestro)
In most cases, the failure of BI projects can be attributed to the human element instead of technology. The most common five reasons for failure of BI projects are:
- A long and complex implementation
- A lack of preparation
- Poor data quality
- Poor Change Management
- User not enough trained
“When’s the last time you put together a plan for using the data your company collects? If you’re like many business leaders, the answer might be anything from ‘never’ to ‘not often enough.’” (Kiersten Bush from Ghergich & Co. )
All You Need to Know about BI
When BI is properly used and implemented, business leaders can make better decisions with a higher level of confidence and precision. This will allow them to achieve higher profits and formidable competitive advantages. Recently, Safeforce published an excellent article with infographic explaining all you need to know about BI software.
“Oftentimes Business Intelligence or BI, is big and overwhelming, so it sits instead of being put to use—to increase efficiency, to creatively solve problems, to offer insight to sales and marketing. Luckily, the tech world is attuned to the loss of BI’s potential, which is why you’ll find lots of software options to help you manage it. But which one should you pick? This graphic can help.” (Kiersten Bush from Ghergich & Co. )
Click To Enlarge
Via Salesforce
