The Self-service software is an innovative solution to the growing snarls of outdated processes and their associated delays in modern business. Chief among these is the burden of report generation on the IT department, and the regular wait before decision makers have actionable information in hand. With all the data available in today’s business world, it’s more important than ever to put decision makers in direct contact with the business’s vital information.
A decision maker needs information. Although more data is available than ever before, it has become increasingly difficult to manage and interpret. Business Intelligence reporting software has grown to fill the void between data and actionable information, but many businesses are not taking full advantage of these new tools. The traditional process of report generation as an IT task removes decision makers from actionable data. They must rely on a go-between to get the information they need, which wastes not only time and money but also potential.
Rather than waiting for the IT department to generate reports, decision makers can immediately find the answers they need. Follow up questions no longer require another long wait while the IT department seeks, compiles, and summarizes the available data into reports. Actionable information is constantly available. It’s easy to run daily reports to check the state of the business, look for progress in new endeavors, and answer questions from partners. Decision makers are free to work through problems at a faster pace determined by their position’s specific demands.
Technology has developed at a rapid rate over the past several years, and job titles are growing and changing to match new software. While some of the new roles fill new talent vacuums, such as social media managers, many employees have seen a detrimental shift in their daily responsibilities. Rather than improving core systems and solving immediate problems, IT departments now see a large portion of their talent buried under report generation. Decision makers haven’t escaped this trend. Many spend as much time sending requests for information as they do developing plans. By removing actionable information from the reach of decision makers, many businesses have limited their own growth and potential.
Self-service reporting puts Business Intelligence solutions back in the hands of the employees who need it the most. This software functions less as a regular duty and more as a flexible tool. It does not define a position but works to assist decision makers directly. This is a key difference for employees. Catering to the increasingly complex demands of technology rather than using advanced systems to complete essential tasks is bad business. Until recently, however, decision makers had little choice in this matter.
Self-service reporting opens the door to a new age of rapid action. Highly-informed decision makers can quickly respond to both major and minor changes. Streamlined roles allow maximum efficiency, and with better, faster tools at their disposal, decision makers can get ahead of developing trends. BI’s latest evolution improves businesses from the ground up and the top down at the same time.