A great business intelligence tool does not have to be complicated or expensive. If you want to do it right, you should strive for data democratization and look for a BI solution that is designed for business users with average technical skills. BI software that is meant to be used by your business users will allow for quick and accurate decisions, ensure that everyone is working with the right information.
In spite of the fact that trade publications and business conferences have been talking about business intelligence and BI software for years, there are still some business executives and business owners that do not understand how business intelligence tools can help the organization achieve its goals and stay ahead of the competition.
When you are considering a business intelligence tool, you may not think it is important to consider whether that solution has the capacity to provide cross-tab analysis. Even though cross-tab analysis has been around awhile, it is still very relevant and, when it is paired with other great business intelligence tools, it can be a powerful feature to provide data clarity and support confident business decisions. Business intelligence software with cross-tab analysis enables a 360° view of data and a BI reporting tool that offers insight into data in a way that other tools do not.
BI dashboard is no longer the sole domain of a business intelligence analyst or data scientist. When a business implements a mobile, self-serve BI tool, it ensures that its business users and team members will have access to critical analytical tools in the office and on the road.
Imagine that you know you have a problem in your business. Perhaps your sales are slipping in a particular region or your customers are no longer buying a particular product even though you have discounted and promoted the item.
Data analytics is not just for day-to-day business intelligence. These days, pretty much every business has some form of data analytics software. If your organization has embraced data democratization, you are probably encouraging business users to use BI analytics and, hopefully, your senior executives, middle managers and data scientists are using these BI analytics tools for strategic initiatives, as well.
I have a few pet peeves but every one of my team members knows ONE of these pet peeves all too well. I HATE spending time and resources on endless report customization and data sharing that never quite makes it to every team member. I hate it when everyone isn’t on the same page! But, I don’t have the time to run to every office and check on what team members are using to make decisions.
Some organizations find it difficult to manage data and to take advantage of business intelligence tools. Integrating data sources is necessary, of course, but once the data is integrated, business users, IT staff, data analysts and senior executives must make sense of the data.
Studies show that people learn and make connections faster and better when they can see visual depictions of information. The saying, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ is true and understanding that concept is crucial to business success. Users and executives do not want to read through hundreds of pages of information. They do not want to waste time looking for that elusive answer in a twenty-page spreadsheet.
