Why Business Intelligence?

Any smart business owner today will tell you that appreciating the value of data is vital to a businesses success. Most businesses understand that value but not every business knows how to truly push the boundaries. In the past, Business Intelligence solutions were seen as something only the elite can afford and small to medium sized businesses were more than satisfied with using Microsoft Excel as an alternative to implementing a true BI platform. Fortunately, times are changing and BI platforms are not only becoming cheaper to implement, they are also becoming a necessity in order to survive in the ever changing business world.

So what does a BI solution offer? Sure the standard features are okay -- OLAP cubes, analytic, performance management, reporting -- but what really makes a BI solution shine?

Most businesses neglect the benefits of other features such as data mining, text analysis, and predictive analysis. These features are what truly make up a decision support system. Imagine being able to "predict" the sales forecast for a product during the holiday season based on trends from the past 3 years? Imagine being able to analyze the shopping trends of certain age demographics? The possibilities are endless.

Contrary to the misconception that BI platforms are expensive, vendors such as SAP have begun developing products targeted for small to medium size businesses. Microsoft has also been doing it for years now. So now these businesses are also able to make proactive decisions because a BI solution arms workers with information that will help them quickly make decisions that affect the bottom line. Meetings become more strategic, and the organization becomes much more productive as a result.

So what does the future hold? Only time will tell and I end this post by thanking you for reading.