What to look for in Business Intelligence
Over the last few blogs we have discussed Business Intelligence in detail. However we have yet to lay out what you should look for from a Business Intelligence solution. Business Intelligence should be designed to provide your company with the information required to get a comprehensive overview of your company’s performance and productivity. So what features does your Business Intelligence need to have to succeed.
First Business Intelligence Feature
Data Access is critical for any Business Intelligence solution. No matter what the market that you are in, you need access to data that allows you to know the things which provides that competitive advantage. Such information could be monthly revenue, orders by customer, or sales information. Technology and business intelligence is about enabling you to monitor virtually anything within your organization, so ensure that any Business Intelligence software that you evaluate should include powerful and flexible data access.
Second Business Intelligence Feature
To see is to believe and that goes for Business Intelligence. Raw data is raw data for a reason and is not easy to use and translate into information without simplified presentation. Through Business Intelligence multi-dimensional charting, analytic and monitoring-oriented dashboards, you can see quickly the things you're doing right and the areas where improvements are required. Before you buy, know what you're getting into, and make sure that your Business Intelligence software includes easy to use visualization tools.
Third Business Intelligence Feature
Unified business knowledge and understanding is key to Business Intelligence. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is great but only half the battle. You must make sure that you have an idea and strategy of what to do with your new found information. That's where unified business knowledge comes in to play. With target based and balanced scorecards, alerts for exceptions, interlinking between programs, and crossover access to applications, it becomes easier to explore the implications of your new strategy.
Business Intelligence can suck you in but don't leave anything to chance. The appeal of Business Intelligence is that they make your work easier. Ease of use and self-service capabilities are key features of today's software - which represent a great improvement from the tools of yesterday.
Help us understand what your business intelligence requirements are by taking our business intelligence survey and you could win an iPad for your time!
