Business Intelligence - Tips for Effective Use of Existing Tools

Below are tips for effectively using existing business intelligence tools. This document is based on an article by SAP and Intel companies that reviewed ways to improve organizational performance through intelligent use of business intelligence tools (the original article was written by Don Tapscott: Business Intelligence: Actionable Insights for Business Decision Makers).

Although many organizations have invested significantly in data collection and data integration, not every organization succeeds in analyzing and using data to improve business performance.

Based on the review, we've collected several important tips that may help you continue to use business intelligence tools to be competitive.

1. Expand Your Scope: Don't Settle for Less

Expand the use of data in developing reports for users, relying on it to create insights and gain competitive advantages.

Current BI solutions can help knowledge workers make more informed decisions that align with business goals.

Decision-making and the pursuit of business strategy should not be based solely on "what happened" but also on a comprehensive and deep understanding of "what's happening now" and what's likely to happen. This understanding becomes increasingly important in the "real-time" world, where the internet and globalization are changing all the rules, as the complexity of the reality in which they operate is higher.

2. Collaborate

Practical BI applications are based on close collaboration between the business unit and the IT department. BI applications are more successful when business units know the range of technologies available to them and the capabilities implied. Then, their people are careful when communicating their needs to the IT department.

IT people should strive to understand business unit managers' strategic goals and suggest ways BI tools might help them achieve them.

Intelligent use of technologies and establishing effective collaboration between business unit managers and IT managers will advance your business's competitive advantage.

3. Accelerate Integration

The technological infrastructure will improve significantly in 2010 (desktop, servers, data center performance). The speed of data extraction, collection, and delivery will contribute to the more efficient delivery of real-time BI solutions.

The information will, therefore, be more relevant and accessible faster. As a result, the efficiency of using information to fulfill business strategy may intensify. Be aware of this, and make sure to lubricate the wheels of integration between BI solutions and daily business processes, thus helping to improve organizational performance. Define the success of integration by the contribution of BI tools to advancing business strategy.

4. The Beauty of Simplicity

Choose simple, relevant, fast BI solutions, and you'll likely maintain a competitive advantage in an ever-changing world.

The forces of globalization - instant communication, free trade, outsourcing, and activities beyond national borders- emphasize the importance of analyzing information and making quick, data-based decisions.

BI tools should help all users identify relevant patterns and changes in those patterns most easily and intuitively.

Insist on using simple, easy-to-operate BI tools with high visual demonstration and interactive capabilities. These can help employees make efficient decisions faster.

In conclusion, BI solutions will continue to evolve, and you should harness them intelligently to improve business processes, generate insights, and improve decision-making, especially those made in real-time in the organization. Doing so will ensure that you're maintaining your position as a serious contender with the innovative challenges of the 21st century.