How to Choose Between Business Intelligence Systems

Are you a business owner looking to implement business intelligence to help deal with your business’ data? When it comes to implementing business intelligence, one of the most important steps is to select a solution design that works best for your business. Businesses have to deal with mass amounts of data concerning their customers, prospects, internal business processes, suppliers, partners, and competitors. BI systems transform this jumble of data into an organized and efficient system. By utilizing organized data, you increase revenue, profitability, and business efficiency. However, business intelligence is not one-size-fits-all. Before making a decision, you must first have the knowledge to understand how to choose between business intelligence systems. It is important to recognize the differences between each of the options and how to determine which system is right for your business.  

Features 

Features help you get the most out of your business intelligence system. Features provide the flexibility to mold your BI system to fit your business’ specific needs. When trying to decide which system to choose, it’s good to start by classifying features as must-haves, nice-to-haves, and will-not-use. Businesses often make the mistake of looking over extensive lists of features rather than laying out what features your company needs, which ones would be nice to have but aren’t a necessity, and which ones you don’t need at all. Features like intuitive design, scope of searchable data, and search customization may be great for some businesses but may not work as well with others. Figuring out the features that best fit your business, makes choosing between BI systems easy. It also ensures that your business intelligence system will be the perfect fit. 

User-friendly

 An important step in choosing between BI systems is knowing your employee’s skill levels. For example, you need to know if your employees are capable of adapting a new system before implementing one, and then verify that the system fits their current skill sets. Obviously, for some, training will need to take place, in order to help them learn the new system. Sometimes a BI system looks good on paper but does not hold up when applied in real life. Knowing and keeping in mind your employees’ skill level is the perfect way to prevent setbacks, and to ensure that your new systems aren’t too difficult or incompatible. 

Choosing between BI systems can be a daunting task for business owners. However, the right business intelligence system provides your business with the organization it needs to increase profitability. When searching for a system for your business, make sure to pick features that fit your business’ specific needs. Lastly, choose a system that your employees are able to use with ease.