Article credit: Sage 

More and more companies are calling for the necessity of business intelligence (BI) and reporting. It’s becoming the ‘it’ word in the business world. However, there seems to be a gap in understanding why we need BI. What’s the point of having BI? What’s the big ‘so what?’ of BI?

It’s not as complicated as it sounds

Often, implementing the required BI solutions found in your accounting or ERP system is perceived to be complex and hard to customize.  Some think that massive costs and IT resources are required to gather the information. Then, once information has been gathered, they think that time needs to be spent arranging the data in an understandable format to be utilized, as IT didn’t understand the needs of the business completely when they first gathered the information. However, this should never be the case. There are many BI solutions that can give you greater insight into your business with very little effort.

Gain control of your company

If improving your business is one of your goals you must have readily available access to data and information. Having this fast and accurate information at your fingertips allows for more informed business decisions.  Giving your employees the ability to easily and quickly gather information will result in a knock-on effect that will strengthen the company.

Many businesses are focusing on being more mobile. Mobile devices and applications have grown exponentially over the past decade—allowing business to be conducted from anywhere and at any time.  Thus, BI reporting plays an even more integral part of our daily lives. Employees won’t need to work in isolation anymore, as information can be shared easily.

Here are just a few key advantages of running a business with the help of BI:

• Employees will have easy access to valuable business reports allowing information and data to become the driving force of decision making.
• Improved sharing of inter-departmental knowledge.
• Financial viability of the company is improved, as it is easier to manage cost ownership.
• There’s a greater understanding of the value of the business and the capabilities thereof, and thus what can be improved or expanded.

The only constant is change and your company’s ability to understand, accept, and apply strategies to manage this change will determine your success.  BI will provide you with the tools required to do this through obtaining greater visibility into what goes on in your business.