4 Key Questions About Business Intelligence

November 26, 200911:52 pmEsmartBI Strategy, BI Theory

There are Iour main questions one asks in relation to BI..
What is BI?
Why do I need BI?
What BI tools do I need Ior what purpose?
How do I select a BI solution?
What is the best way to implement BI?
I will answer each oI these questions in Iollowing blogs
What is BI?
Business intelligence is a capability, supported by a soItware suite that provides insight into your
business and its operating environment to support more productive and more proIitable
decisions. It helps to Iilter out personal biases and irrelevant past experiences to isolate the most
meaningIul data that relates directly to the decisions you need to make Ior today and the Iuture oI
your business. BI diIIers Irom standard reporting in that reporting adopts an historical
perspective to show what has happened in the past. It does not tell you why it happened, or
whether it may happen in the same way again in the Iuture.
Why do I need BI?
A business is designed to move Iorward, not backward. Using backward Iacing inIormation to
drive a Iorward Iacing business doesn`t make sense and can lead to massive mistakes through
incorrect assumptions, and decisions made Ior political rather than logical reasons. BI removes
human Irailty Irom decision making as much as possible, allowing Ior evidence-based decisions
to drive your business. This alone helps to cleanse your business oI personal ego patching,
destructive hierarchical power-plays and overzealous enthusiasm driving you into activities that
do not support your productivity and proIitability goals. It reduces risk signiIicantly and helps
you streamline both your operational and marketing activities to those that produce the most
value Ior the least resources expended.
Sometimes, in amongst all the hype and conIusion oI new technologies it pays to revisit the basic
questions...in this case we are looking at business intelligence |BI|..
What is BI?
O Why do I need BI?
O What BI tools do I need Ior what purpose?
O How do I select a BI solution?
O What is the best way to implement BI?
I will answer each oI these questions in Iollowing blogs
,t is BI?
Business intelligence is a capability, supported by a soItware suite that provides insight into your
business and its operating environment to support more productive and more proIitable
decisions. It helps to Iilter out personal biases and irrelevant past experiences to isolate the most
meaningIul data that relates directly to the decisions you need to make Ior today and the Iuture oI
your business. BI diIIers Irom standard reporting in that reporting adopts an historical
perspective to show what has happened in the past. It does not tell you why it happened, or
whether it may happen in the same way again in the Iuture.
y do I need BI?
A business is designed to move Iorward, not backward. Using backward Iacing inIormation to
drive a Iorward Iacing business doesn`t make sense and can lead to massive mistakes through
incorrect assumptions, and decisions made Ior political rather than logical reasons.
BI removes human Irailty Irom decision making as much as possible, allowing Ior evidence-
based decisions to drive your business. This alone helps to cleanse your business oI personal ego
patching, destructive hierarchical power-plays and overzealous enthusiasm driving you into
activities that do not support your productivity and proIitability goals.
BI signiIicantly reduces decision risk and helps you streamline both your operational and
marketing activities to those that produce the most value Ior the least resources expended.