Your Company Gets An “F” In Business Intelligence – Here’s Why

Business intelligence (BI) is an important component of any successful organization. It can set your company apart by increasing operational efficiency and helping you gain a competitive advantage.

It can be applied to both SMEs and large corporations in all fields of business from tech to retail to agriculture. Your company should be paying attention to business intelligence if you have introduced new products, have experienced large growth or have a need to integrate data from multiple sources.

Companies that invest in Business Intelligence can enjoy benefits like being able to:

• Track the performance of marketing campaigns
• Analyze customer purchasing behaviors and patterns
• Improve financial planning
• Improve risk analysis
• Improve supply chain effectiveness

If you’re failing to reap the above benefits (and more) from your business intelligence strategy then it’s probably due to one of the following reasons:

1.You have a poor user interface

How easy to use is your interface? Despite the complex code and the engineering behind the platform, your staff will only interact with the UI (User Interface). A friendly interface is fast becoming the number one criteria in selecting BI software. People will not want to use the product to its potential if it appears complicated.

Opt for an interface that has natural language and is visual over one with technical terms and complicated tables. This will encourage your employees and customers to utilize it.

Once the interface is ready to launch, it is important to invest time in training your employees properly on how the software functions, and how to best utilize the tool. This will improve their overall level of comfort and make uptake easier.

2.You don’t have a clear goal from the start

There is no way you will be able to measure success if you do not start with a goal in mind. Begin by working with not only your executive team but a group of key employees to clearly define what success will look like. Have a project plan in place before beginning and include specific milestones to keep the project on track.

3.You’re using old technology

When you use old technology, you may end up complicating the work of your employees instead of using BI to make it easier for them. First, if you are using old tech, you might not be collecting the data relevant to your unique company needs.

Second, the technology needs to have today’s user in mind; that means, mobile capabilities and data visualizations. If the software is only accessible via desktop and your staff (particularly field staff) cannot access it to perform tasks like viewing or making reports on the go, it will not appear to be a problem-solving tool.  This will lead to lack of utilization by your employees.

4.You’re using bad or incorrect data

One of the upsides of business intelligence software is that it provides you with an immense amount of data, but if this is data is irrelevant or incomplete then you will not achieve the results you are aiming for.

Incorrect data can arise when you have multiple users accessing and manipulating different data pools. Without a clear process to approve and validate the data you will wind up with reports that you cannot trust. This will undermine the entire Business Intelligence strategy and likely lead to its failure.

Feeding your software with disorganized and irrelevant data will also end up creating confusion and extra for everyone involved. Instead rely on tools that have data filtering and sanitization capabilities. 

5.Employees lack business intelligence skills

When it comes to business intelligence, collecting mass quantities of data is only half the journey. Making sense of this data is the most important step, and this is where your people come in. That data you gather needs to be interpreted into actionable information for it to be of any use to your organization.

For this, you need to have human resources capable of interpreting the data you collect thus allowing you to gain unique insights from it and come up with strategies that can be put into effect. Your employees should be empowered and trained to actively contribute to your business intelligence strategy. They should be involved in identifying which data to collect, how to collect it and what to make of it.

6.No support from management

Your business intelligence project will likely require a sizeable investment in resources-one of the most important being time. This is one reason management excuses themselves from the process, unfortunately, this can lead to failure of the project.

Management, in particular your CIO, (or head of technology) should be involved in not only the selection of vendors but also in keeping a close eye on the implementation phase. For one, the project will run more smoothly because decision making will be seamless thanks to management being clued in.

Need help putting together your business intelligence strategy?

Talk with the Business Intelligence experts at ASB Resources today!  Our team can help you chart a clear path to unlocking your company’s unique business intelligence potential and implement tools that will guarantee succuess for years to come. Schedule some time with us soon!