Large organizations face complex problems, especially regarding the implementation of business intelligence. They deal with various systems, some outdated, and the situation becomes more complicated when organizations undergo mergers and acquisitions.
While these complexities are less characteristic of small and medium-sized organizations, the need for business intelligence doesn't bypass them.
Aberdeen conducted a survey of 650 organizations aimed at understanding the business needs driving organizations to invest in data management.
The biggest challenge, as learned, is one we also see in large companies: data variance. Small-medium organizations cannot ignore this variance, as the amount of data continues to grow yearly at an impressive rate of 27% (large organizations report a similar figure - 26% annual growth).
One difference found between excellent SMB organizations and others is in the level of data preparation, prioritization, and bringing critical information to action. Another difference relates to the adoption of business intelligence technologies:
Use of data integration tools (76% instead of 38% in other SMB organizations).
Use of data warehouse software (71% instead of 50% in other SMB organizations).
Use system integration tools (74% instead of 43% in other SMB organizations).
Use of query and reporting tools (71% instead of 38% in other SMB organizations).
Use of data cleansing tools (53% instead of 31% in other SMB organizations).
Two additional challenges reported by SMB organizations relate to reducing the time to deliver information and implementing business intelligence among more users.
Successful business intelligence implementation depends on the ease and speed of bringing data to the end user. For these purposes, as reported by companies in the survey, a deep initial understanding of business needs and accompanying technological mechanisms and tools are required.
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