Top 8 Factors to Consider for the Right BI Solution Part 3: Easy & Complementary

Part 3 of our top 8 considerations for choosing a BI solution will answer why your solution should be easy and complementary. For businesses that run best when employees have immediate access to information, a BI solution that is easy to use anywhere, anytime is the best solution. Our CSS BI Solution offers a portal that allows users to log in, create, and run reports themselves from any device. Depending on your organizational needs, our solution can be used as our complete BI infrastructure or as a complement to your existing investments in hardware, software, email, and other applications. We're experts in helping organizations automate BI processes so that meaningful information can be delivered at the precise moment it's needed. Rather than wasting days worth of time and resources exporting BI reports, updating Business Intelligence databases, and executing manual BI processes, let CSS handle the BI grunt work.

5.Easy... quick to deploy and user-friendly: The solution must be simple for the entire organization and its customers to adapt.

• A sophisticated BI solution doesn't have to be cumbersome or a headache to its end users. In fact, once a server with basic pre-requisites is in place, it should only require a few minutes to install and configure. And, multiserver deployments, a combination of database/client configurations, failover, and other setups, should be options -- not requirements.

• From an end user standpoint, the BI solution's features and functions should be obvious and easily customizable to fit an individual's workflow. Remember, you want your executives and staff to embrace your business intelligence solution. With proper training, even the most non-technical users should be able to easily deploy, manage, and schedule reports. This empowers users and removes the barriers typically encountered with the roll out of a new solution. 

6.Complementary... takes what you have and makes it what you need: The solution must be designed to leverage your existing IT investments and resources. 

• Most organizations invest heavily in core systems that ultimately stretch their budget and IT resources. Still, the demands of new customer SLAs and "on the fly" KPI reports continue to increase. Instead of completely changing your existing BI infrastructure or practices, your BI solution should be able to quickly adapt to your business environment. For example, it should have the ability to leverage your existing servers and hardware and not require dedicated staff to implement and manage it. 
• Ideally, the solution provider will offer comprehensive implementation services enabling you to implement a comprehensive BI infrastructure without taxing your existing human resources. It should also use industry standards (e.g. connecting to ODBC compliant databases) and APIs rather than relying on proprietary languages and technology. Ask whether the solution has a fully integrated web service and API framework that will allow you to combine the BI functionality with your existing application and systems. Avoid reinventing the wheel when there's no need for complex configurations and setup.

To learn more about the top 8 factors and the three guiding principles, download our latest eBook: "The BI Buyer's Guide" today.