Every organization has to juggle information. Information and data come from every corner of the enterprise, and can include databases, data warehouses, best-of-breed systems, legacy systems, and specialized systems like ERP, HR, Finance, Accounting, Warehousing and others. Important data is also contained in spreadsheets, email, documents, partner and supplier systems and other sources.
BI tools and mobility are not mutually exclusive! Most of today’s BI tools vendors claim to support Mobile BI. But when you actually look at the tools, you find that development, publishing, usage scenarios, usability, and effectiveness, fall far short of comprehensive mobility support.
Dashboards designed by most of the BI tools do not allow intuitive navigation or access on all types of devices and screen sizes.
Data democratization does not involve the process of diversifying data so that there is something for everyone. It involves the democratization of meaningful ACCESS to data! If you don’t think your business users need data, you need to think about the tasks you assign these users every day. We live in an era of employee accountability and empowerment and most enterprises have already realized the need for access to data and the ways in which business users can leverage this data to fulfill their role, accomplish activities and sustain performance.
Myth #2 – True Self-Serve BI Tools Will Compromise Data Governance
Today’s business intelligence market offers many options! But, never every business intelligence solution can help your self-serve initiative succeed. When an enterprise undertakes a business intelligence initiative or wishes to improve or upgrade its BI tools, it is easy to get lost in the hype and myth surrounding the market.
If your organization finds it difficult to sort through the buzz and choose the right BI tools, we are here to help.
Is there anyone left on the planet who thinks business intelligence (BI) is a luxury? Probably not! Everyone knows that measurable, integrated business intelligence is key to business success, both in the local and the global business market. All managers know that BI can improve productivity, strategic alignment, employee accountability and empowerment, and the quality of business decisions, and speed and effectiveness of market action.
If you have BI Tools and you have business users who are expected to use these BI tools, you may be frustrated! Are your users struggling to understand a complex system, or are they restricted by dashboards created by IT to satisfy their needs? Is your data integration incomplete or inaccurate. Maybe you think you need business intelligence solution training for business users to become power users.
When considering a BI solution, focus on a human-centric approach to software design. The business is comprised of people (not machines) and software solutions must satisfy user needs, rather than focusing on a particular platform, framework or technology. This human-centric approach is critical to creating any kind of software or interface, but especially so when one considers business intelligence (BI) user interfaces and dashboards. Key Performance Indicators and metrics are key to business success but ease-of-use and intuitive displays, reporting and personalized dashboards are crucial if users are to leverage, and optimize BI solutions, to get the most out of data and information. But, showing the data is not all there is to design. You must show the data in a way that is intuitive and meaningful to users, no matter what their role, focus, function, or skill level.
Gartner, and other IT industry analysts focus heavily on data-driven support for business decision making. Analyst findings indicate that only one quarter of CEOs are happy with the type and clarity of the information they receive and their confidence in the decisions they make based on that information. Furthermore, these same CEOs say that their ideal BI solution would consist of a central, integrated dashboard that would allow them the flexibility to find, analyze and report on information in an ad-hoc environment.
