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.
When it comes to data analytics, one can skim the surface, or take a deep dive into the data and, in so doing, find those hidden ‘nuggets’ of information that will change the perspective of the business, confirm a theory or reveal the root cause of a problem. With the right business intelligence solution, deep dive analytics is accessible to every business user.
The key to analytics today is to provide the tools to every user on the team and allow them to leverage those tools in whatever way is meaningful to their role and will help them support the goals of the organization. Business users need a BI tool that can provide business intelligence reporting and let them visualize data in a way that makes sense for the data and purpose they are considering.
One of the critical factors in BI tools consideration is whether those tools are easily used on mobile devices. Mobile business intelligence tools are crucial to the success of a business intelligence project. Businesses may spend considerable time and effort on data democratization and on providing tools for team members to use in data analysis but if those tools are not mobile, if they are inaccessible to those on the road, out of the office or working from home, business users do not have equal access or adequate tools to perform day-to-day analytics, to share data with other users or to prepare reports or presentations.
You would have to be living on another planet to avoid social networking these days. The concept has permeated our lives and that includes the business environment. Whether you are engaging in online outreach to your customers and partners or encouraging sharing of data within your organization, you have probably experienced the benefits of shared knowledge, and collaboration and the new and innovative ideas and solutions that result from this kind of sharing.
An enterprise that employs restrictive business intelligence tools is losing competitive advantage and crucial business opportunities every day. To get the most out of business intelligence software, an organization needs a self-serve business intelligence dashboard that will allow business users to access data integrated from multiple sources and analyze that data with ease, using business intelligence reporting that incorporates sophisticated features in a simple, interactive environment.
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.
Self-serve business intelligence tools are no longer new. Nearly every BI tool vendor has an offering in the market. But, not every business intelligence tool is equally useful.
Retail is changing, and it is changing fast! Online buying is having a significant impact on brick and mortar and customer loyalty has changed dramatically. Consumers now have more options and they are leveraging those options to find the best price and the best value.
Here’s what I know about Business Intelligence: Old or incomplete information does not constitute intelligence – what it does is to result in decisions that are sometimes wrong and nearly always misleading. When we provide a business intelligence tool that ties the hands of business users; when we give business users tools and dashboards that are designed by IT or analysts and assume comprehensive knowledge of user needs, we give our business users the wrong kind of tools!
