The Big BI Question: To Build or To Buy?
The biggest debate in the business intelligence (BI) world today, is whether to buy or to build business intelligence. The truth is there are pros and cons associated with both solutions, so today we will look at both. Many companies feel that they can develop better business intelligence solutions in-house. And although there is no question that in-house will have a clearer idea of what business intelligence software needs to do, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the in-house expertise exists to build the necessary software.
What generally happens when business intelligence is built in-house is that a number of programmes are merged together in a semi-functional manner that can serve its purpose but also cause staff any number of headaches. The pertinent question to ask here is if the time spent by in-house staff on creating and monitoring the in-house creation is worth the cost of investing in an outsourced business intelligence product.
While some companies feel that investing in a pre-designed business intelligence software programme dilutes their control over reporting tasks, the key here is to choose the business intelligence package that answers the company’s needs. The considerable advances in business intelligence technology (Tableau Software is a notable example) means that there are business intelligence products available that pretty much answer any business query. It is important from the outset for the company to have a clear idea what the business intelligence must do in order to ensure the selection of the right product.
Of course what companies want the business intelligence software to do can change regularly and so therefore business intelligence must be flexible. When the business intelligence is outsourced, this issue becomes the problem of the vendor and it’s important that these types of additional requirements are built into the contract with the vendor.
In effect, the lower control is offset against the quality of service being provided by the business intelligence vendor. Once this is clarified, there is no reason why outsourcing business intelligence cannot be a more cost-effective solution all round.
If you would like more information on business intelligence software, contact MXI Soft today.