How to keep Business Intelligence (BI) costs down?
Business Intelligence is vital to your ability to bring improvement and growth to your business. In fact, your ability to convert your company’s unique capabilities into usable information might just be the easiest way to develop new business opportunities for your future. But is Business Intelligence cost keeping you from the tools you need to thrive? If so, below listed are five affordable BI tips that may be of use.
- Let business drive your needs
In these rocky economic times, it’s important than ever that you make sure your BI technology is applying to your specific business needs. Start with a clear idea of how information can help your business. Then create information models and configure your tools and processes to meet your goal. This will help you thrive while keeping your Business Intelligence cost down. - Consolidate -To keep Business Intelligent cost at a minimum, consolidating your tools can help. Most companies have more tools than needed, so having one set of tools for analysis and reporting lets you save on software, licensing and training. Plus you’ll keep all teams on the same page if they are creating profitability models on the same software.
- Don’t overdo it – There’s a temptation for companies to do way too many things with their Business Intelligence. Again, streamline your tools and your goals so that your aren’t spreading yourself too thin. Have a goal in mind???and a Business Intelligence cost to meet???and then map your plan to that.
- New data models– Use BI to change with the times. If your goal is to shift from high-value to low-cost you can use BI to get there. The right tools can help you identify products that are out of competitors reach, but not yours. You can also find low-cost tools to forecast, conduct trend analysis and increase your data warehouse.
- Make a central BI hub – The goal is to keep everyone in your company up to speed with the key data and information they need to succeed. By creating a centralized common tool set that can feed data to all stakeholders, you can assure that everyone has the info they need, when they need it.
These are just a few tips to keep the information you need flowing while keeping your Business Intelligence cost down. To ensure you have the BI tools you need, seeking the advice of BI providers can help.