Self Service Business Intelligence – Decoding the Model

Being a business enterprise in today’s world means working with cutting edge technology and new age business philosophies. Everything from budgeting to planning to business information processing and making critical decisions can now have the assistance of technology to make it all work. Terms like self servicing business intelligence aren’t new at all. Your IT department will surely have made a pitch about these new age software that can help you get the exact information you need to take the right decisions. For those who do not fully understand these systems, this article will explain everything about them.

The self service business intelligence model is based upon some simple principles. The idea is using the available tools and methods to extract, manage and process business information to fulfil your requirements that will usher you towards making the right choices. Your IT department will provide you with the tools necessary to manage the information. In some cases, there will be an involvement of the technical team as well to run the software.

Self service Business Intelligence models require that you first scrutinize your information requirements. You will have to critically examine every business function and process to determine which information is crucial to decision making and which doesn’t possess any immediate utility to the user. You can get the right start to the successful implementation of this BI model if you fully understand your information requirements.

Next comes the task of understanding the user base of the BI model. You need to appreciate the fact that not all users of these tools will possess the same skill set, data experience and technical maturity for their data analysis, reporting and usage. Plus there is the aspect of information clearance that you will need to look into. Most self service BI models come with the capabilities of addressing diverse user types and information requirements. You will therefore need to spell out the specifics of this aspect of your business information needs and work with your IT department so that your BI model incorporates these factors.

A similar situation is faced when the potential BI users are stationed across multiple geographical locations. The migration, integration, transformation and storage requirements of data will differ with changes in location, not to mention the effects of cultural differences and language discrepancies. These factors too can affect your BI model and you will need to factor them in when you have it designed for your organisation. Issues like information safety, integrity and storage backups will also have to be considered.

Business Intelligence is a complex part of enterprise management. It makes you understand and appreciate the importance of information governance. And to top it all, it helps you acquire all the right titbits of data that you will need to figure out any situation facing your organisation. Decisions based on a complete understanding of the environment and all the factors involved tend to be effective and THAT is what self service business intelligence is all about.

Need more information about BI, be sure to visit BeyondIntelligence.org.

About The Author

Phillip Jones is an expert in business intelligence and information processing models. His articles are a great source of information for enterprise owners looking to streamline their communication and information flow channels. His recommendation is to anyone looking for BI software is BeyondIntelligence.org.

Phillip Jones is an expert in business intelligence and information processing models.