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What is Business Intelligence?
The term business intelligence (BI), which is used as a general umbrella, refers to a wide range of software subcategories that produce reports and analyze proprietary data.
This includes embedded analytics, business analytics, and enterprise reporting, as well as niche capabilities such as web analytics or social media intelligence.
Business intelligence helps your company make informed business decisions. You can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the operations of your company by collecting data such as transactional information, demographics about customers, sales figures, and lead generation.
This is achieved by combining, visualizing and organizing data in charts or graphs.
The data collected also allows users to make more accurate forecasts and predictions. Do you want to know the impact of seasonality on your business during Winter Holidays? You can generate models based on your historical data if you have been collecting it for several years.
This process can be extrapolated to a wide range of business questions.
What is Strategic Business Planning?
It is a management tool that businesses use to prioritize processes and focus resources and skills in ways to strengthen operations.
It ensures everyone, from the top down to lower-level employees, is working together towards a single goal.
What is the Relationship Between These Two?
BI effectively provides relevant data that can be used to make informed decisions about your approach to business planning.
You can do this in several ways.
Get Market Insights
BI can be used to gather useful information about your competitors by analyzing data and calculating metrics. You can use BI software to gather useful data on your competitors through metrics and data analysis.
The BI can also help you identify what your competitors are missing, allowing you to improve key areas of your business plan.
Get Customer Insight
With this intelligence at your disposal, you can also identify patterns in the customer's behavior, including buying habits and bottlenecks.
Customers are the core of any business operation, so it is imperative to incorporate such valuable data into strategic business plans to improve customer experience and increase Return on Investment.
Streamline Marketing
Business Intelligence is crucial to helping companies expand. It is the key component of any marketing plan. BI allows you to assess your marketing budget and decide where it should be spent.
This is also a great opportunity to eliminate what's not working. Marketing strategies are changing rapidly, and even if they were successful in the past, you will need to adapt.
Faster Decision-Making
Any strategic planning for business should take into consideration the latest, most relevant data. It's pointless to use old data in the face of Covid-19 and the upheaval it has caused.
By using BI tools, you can access current business data via reports, graphs and charts, which will ensure that your business plan relies on accurate information.
Sales Strategies That Work
If you are in the sales industry, using BI to plan your strategic business operations is essential! This data visualization allows your team to analyze sales numbers, plan sales budgets accurately and meet company goals in real time.
Human Resources BI
You've seen how BI helps with business planning, and we've also shown you that it's a great tool for internal planning.
BI can analyze employee data, such as employee leaves, turnover, and performance, from an HR perspective. You can then make changes to the system, for example, by implementing training programs or rewarding employees who perform better.
Inventory and Finances BI
Another internal operation that is enhanced by BI includes tracking of inventory, supply chain and operations to improve strategy.
It also involves preparing accurate reports on finances and budgeting.
Save Time And Money
In the end, business intelligence is an effective tool that can save you time and money when it comes to strategic planning.
Data collection, data analysis and visualization are all handled for you. When you work with professionals such as Cyber Infrastructure Inc.'s business intelligence firm, you get ongoing support and guidance using software that is industry specific.
Get your business in a position to succeed with BI software.
What is a Business Intelligence Strategy?
How do you create a strategy for business intelligence now that you understand what it is? Software implementation or delivery strategy is a plan managers use to choose, prepare and implement a new platform for business.
Before selecting any software, it's crucial to create a plan. You can avoid delays by having a strategy in place.
Planning a business intelligence strategy includes identifying goals and a budget. It also involves incorporating input from stakeholders, selecting software, and implementing it.
In the next section, we will go into more depth about implementing a specific business intelligence strategy.
Important
Why is a Business Intelligence Implementation Strategy necessary? Can't you just purchase any system from the store? Yes and no.
Technically, you could purchase almost any software for business intelligence on the market. Most offer robust reporting and analytical capabilities.
It is important to have a plan to choose, purchase and implement your business intelligence software. Imagine yourself on a long sea journey.
You could either wing it, hoping to find land or take along a star map, survival rations, and liferafts.
Components
This is a short breakdown of what your Business Intelligence strategy should consist of:
Take Input From Stakeholders
You'll want to get input from shareholders, employees and the C-Suite before you move forward with your BI Strategy.
You need to know who is going to use the software and how much budget you will have. Also, it would help if you determined what tasks you want the software to do, as well as what workloads it will take on.
It's impossible to please everyone, but getting close will help reduce friction.
Establish Implementation Goals
It's a major undertaking to implement business intelligence software, so you should know what your goals are from the start.
To narrow your requirements, you'll have to ask yourself several questions. What information will you collect? What data is stored where? How do you plan to use this data for insights?
Can your data be collected over time or only in real time? What KPIs are you tracking? Who will use the software? You can use these questions to determine the type of software that you will need.
They will also help you decide how large your scope is and what you want out of it.
Make a Budget
A successful BI project requires an accurate budget. Pricing guides and reviews are usually a good source of information on starting prices or ranges.
You can use these to create a rough budget. Asking for an estimate directly from the vendor is your only option to receive an accurate estimation. Software is usually priced per user and module.
It's a good idea to ask for pricing at this stage from each vendor.
This step also requires a happy medium. You don't need to purchase the most expensive version with the latest bells and whistles unless you require it.
You will not only find it expensive but also unlikely to use all the bells and whistles. Underbuying will also result in a system with fewer features and less functionality. When planning your budget, be realistic and moderate.
Read More: Business Intelligence Vs Business Analytics – A Comparative View
Get Requirements
The list of requirements is used by businesses to evaluate systems. When creating the list, be sure to consult the people who will use the software directly.
They will know the features that they require to complete their task.
Are they required to have the ability to distribute reports to large numbers of people within and outside their organization? Are they looking for detailed drill-down capabilities? Do you need data to be sourced from SQL databases, transactional or relational? When choosing BI software, it is important to first determine what you require.
You can use this checklist to get an overview of the features available and what they do. You can then use our interactive template to specify your needs.
This will be submitted to vendors for price quotes and demonstrations.
Compare Vendors
It is also helpful to identify your needs, as it allows you to eliminate vendors that don't have the feature or don't deliver necessary features consistently.
Compare different vendors of business intelligence based on their ratings for various features. This comparison report, reviews and demos combined will give you a better idea of which business intelligence solution best suits your needs.
Sending an RFP
Here's an easy guide to submitting a BI RFP. After you have gathered all your requirements and determined which vendors you want to work with in the final two steps of the process, you will be ready to send the RFP.
Requesting proposals allows you to get accurate quotes on your business requirements and develop personal relationships with vendors that will ultimately provide your BI solutions. You can also be clear about your requirements and ask vendors for clarification on the features and capabilities of individual platforms.
Ask for Demos
At this point, you can request demos or trials from the vendors on your list. You can only find software that you will be satisfied with if you take it for a test run.
This allows you to see if the software can provide the desired features.
Plan User Training
After you have chosen your system, the next step is to create a training plan. Vendors will offer a combination of free resources, such as a knowledge base, videos, help documentation, FAQs and forums, along with live classes or in-person training to ensure you are comfortable using the software.
The offerings are different by platform and vendor, but they're pretty standard.
You can estimate the cost of your training by deciding what type of training you want. You can find out how much training was included with their license or subscription by reading reviews.
Was it enough for them? What would the cost of additional training be, and how will it look? You'll know what to expect from your vendor and how you can prepare for implementation.
Benefits
There are many benefits to having a business intelligence strategy in place before you buy. These are some of the benefits:
Saving Time
A good strategy for business intelligence should, first and foremost, help you to choose, buy, and implement software solutions in the fastest, most efficient way.
You'll be able to save valuable time by establishing a plan, budget, and outline for training before you start.
Saving Money
You can save money by implementing a BI strategy in a variety of ways. One of the best ways to cut costs is to determine the features that you will use.
This way, there won't be a system with a lot of bells and whistles. As mentioned earlier, you'll save money on labor costs by cutting down the amount of time it takes to complete the task.
Preparing for training (and the associated costs) can help you plan and avoid unforeseen expenses.
Gain a Competitive Edge
Imagine two companies, A Company and B Company. They are both in the same business, with similar numbers of employees in comparable locations.
They both want to install business intelligence software. However, Company A has a strategy for delivery in place before Company B.
Company A sends their requirements in detail to vendors who can best meet their needs. Company B continues to look at the various platforms and try to determine which is best.
Then, the company gets price quotes and demos from the vendors they have selected so that they can test the system and make sure it meets their requirements. Company B finally got in touch with the vendors who had received the best ratings. However, they found out that the two most expensive ones were way outside their budget and had to start over.
Company A selects a platform with a good user interface and a budget that is within its initial expectations. The platform chosen by Company B is the one that appears to be the most suitable, but there's no way for them to know.
Company A is now confident to begin their training plan while the other company tries to use whatever resources are available from their vendor.
Company A may have saved money, time and even stress by this stage. At the same time, Company B might not be able to implement the business intelligence software properly.
The delivery strategy is crucial.
Challenges
You may encounter several issues without having a strategy for business intelligence. This should encourage you to implement one.
Avoid these pitfalls:
Reduced Chance Of Successful Adoption
Gartner & Forbes report that BI adoption in the majority of industries is around 30%. A pre-planned strategy for business intelligence is the key to avoiding being on the outer.
In the thought experiment between Company A and Company B, you can see that Company B faces a higher failure rate because it doesn't know whether the chosen system will meet its requirements.
Increased Risk of Overspending
Similar to Company B, they are more likely than Company A to spend too much because of their lack of a plan. A vendor might convince Company B that they need real-time updates to their dashboards.
If they do not use this feature, then it is a waste of money that slows down and makes the system harder to use. Company A may also experience the same issues, but it is less likely if you plan out which features you are going to use.
As your business grows, you can add more features.
The Loss of Time
The search for software by Company B was a disaster, and they had to restart. At the same time, Company A went about its business systematically.
In the world of business, having a plan is better than going blindly forward.
Frustrated Employees
Most business intelligence implementations are unsuccessful. It is because the employees have difficulty using it.
Employees will not use the software if it is difficult to use or the user interface is unfriendly. The frustration can lead to the failure to use or adopt the software. This costs you money in training and switching systems.
How to Document a BI Strategy
It is easiest to document a BI Strategy by developing a complete plan that includes high-level objectives and technical specifications.
The executive sponsors must sign it. It should explain how the BI strategy fits into company goals.
Additional Topics That A Business Intelligence Document Must Cover Include:
- Executive Summary: A summary that describes at a high level the need for and the plan of the company's business intelligence strategy.
- Alignment to Corporate Strategy: The alignment strategy is part of BI analytics and shows the BI strategy's goals.
- Scope and Requirements of the Project: Describe in detail any design or additional requirements.
- Business Intelligence Governance Team: Create a Business Intelligence Competency Center team (BICC) consisting of people who are involved with your business intelligence initiatives.
- Evaluation: The staff and management can use the end state as a point of reference when assessing a project.
- Business Intelligence Roadmap: Set expectations with stakeholders by providing them with a road map for the high-level objectives.
- Tech: Diagrams and diagrams of the BI and application architecture.
- Data Management: Tell us how you plan to manage your data. Include information about data dictionaries and metrics, as well as data governance.
- Documentation of Change Management: How you plan to implement changes in operational reporting and operations.
What are the Best Practices for BI Strategy?
When developing a successful BI Strategy, use best practices to create a holistic strategy. Begin with your senior staff and the highest-ranking members of your organization.
Incorporate helpful information, like standard terminology, into the strategy. Analyze the results and what didn't work.
Business Intelligence Strategy: Best Practices
Solid BI strategies are more than just a tech initiative. You must approach strategy development as if you are going to be successful in your field.
List of best practices for BI strategies:
- Begin with a SWOT Analysis: The SWOT acronym stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Opportunities and threats are external factors. Strengths and weaknesses refer to internal considerations. These categories can be used to organize your current BI assessment.
- Involve Staff Members in Planning: Team members who are involved in the current BI processes form a crucial link. Their feedback and insight should be used to drive strategic decisions.
- Take a Look at a TOGAF Framework or Zachman Framework: Both the Open Group Architecture Framework and Zachman Framework provide structure for enterprise architecture. Select one piece of each framework to organize your technologies, business processes and information assets.
- Remove Roadblocks in your Company: Use the first three best practices to identify the obstacles. There are many types of limitations. To overcome roadblocks, look for solutions that are technological or process related.
- Reduce Analysis Time: Develop dashboards instead of providing regular, lengthy analysis. Dashboards allow for a faster time frame between the data being accessed and the business decision. The strategy gives users greater control.
- Implement Feedback Loops: To work well with your staff, you must first define issues and then fix them before asking for their feedback. Feedback loops are used to turn potential improvements into actions during phased implementation. Feedback loops are the lifecycle of BI that makes it improve.
- Incorporate a Data Dictionary: A successful BI strategy document ensures consistency in terminology. Make a data dictionary to define the front-end names, attributes and backend elements.
Conclusion
Any software implementation should begin with a solid business intelligence strategy.
By implementing a deliberate BI strategy, you can avoid overspending and save money. You will also keep your staff happy, as well as gain an edge in the competitive market. This strategy includes requirements gathering, vendor evaluation, quotes, demos, budgeting, and training.
You should now have the necessary tools to confidently proceed with your search for BI software.
