If you are thinking about starting a journey in the world of BI (Business Intelligence), research can mean the difference between increased operational efficiency and nasty decision-making. BI, through its software, serves a diverse array of purposes. For this, picking the right solution can be a daunting task.
As a decision maker, you need to choose the ideal business intelligence software to optimise internal business processes, increase operational efficiency, drive new revenues, identify marketing trends and gain competitive advantages.
When it is time to make a decision, you should consider the following tips:
Understand your business
Before buying a BI tool, you need to have a clear understanding of your business needs or requirements. By understanding your business requirements, it can point you to the right path. For this task to be easy, here are the questions you need to ask yourself:
- What does your company currently have?
- Will the new BI tool work seamlessly with the existing infrastructure?
- Does the new BI tool necessitate additional hardware?
- Do you have the right in-house skill set to develop BI solutions?
Determine the integration options
The integration options should be the highlight of your decision-making process, not the pricing. Bear in mind that the true value of BI depends entirely on getting different data currently housed in the multiple systems into the new BI tool.
You should ensure that the tool you picked would not hinder value and results. The best thing to do is to look for tools that have at least one hundred connectors. Aside from that, you should look for solutions that facilitate APIs to collect data in real-time.
Check the ease of use
There will be a demo and it is crucial that the teams are present during sessions. Training should be organised as well. These are important in ensuring easy use of BI tools or software. Remember that ease of use is a strong sign of how quickly a solution can be adopted into the organisation.
Understand the pricing models
As mentioned, the integration options should be the highlight of your decision-making process, not the pricing. At the end of the day, it is wise to decide based on the value, not the cost. It can also help if you already set a budget.
Keep in mind that there are some vendors that will offer flexible subscription plans while others require an annual license depending on the number of general users. You have to be diligent when it comes to uncovering the details like integrations, customization, and additional hardware requirements in relation to the price.
Plan ahead
To make the most out of the BI tools, it is imperative that you try to generalise the needs of your company – in the next 12 to 24 months. With this, you need to find a tool that can give you room to evolve as your needs change whether marketing, financial, sales, logistics or HR.
Final words
In the world of BI, simplicity is the key to help you achieve quick results without spending additional dollars on professional services or development works. Your goal here is to ensure that the team totally embraces any tool that will help them achieve their goals.
