Debunking Common Business Intelligence Myths
Myth # 3: Business Users Do Not Need Ad-Hoc Data Analysis
If your business is confused about the tools in the business intelligence market, you are not alone. There are lot of options in the market today, which is great for the enterprise and its users, but the confusion that this marketplace creates can be daunting when it comes to making a decision about which solution is right for your organization and your business users. If your business has a self-serve business intelligence initiative, the confusion can be even more discouraging. How do you choose a tool that will live up to the hype and your expectations?
The information presented in this seven-articles series, entitled ‘Debunking Common Business Intelligence Myths’, will shatter common myths in the BI tools market, and provide clarity to cut through the confusion so that you can make the right decision for your business and your users.
In the third article of this series, we will focus on one of the most misleading myths about Business Intelligence tools; namely that ‘Business Users Do Not Need Ad Hoc Data Analysis’.
Consider the BI tools in the market today, and ask yourself whether these tools:
- Provide meta data layer that is easy for business users to understand and leverage
- Allow your business users to bring in, integrate and view integrated data in a single view
- Allow your business users to create new columns and reports
- Support ad-hoc queries
- Enable business users to change data operations and summary operations on the fly
The answer to these questions is a resounding ‘NO’. That is why these tools do not truly help business users or fulfill the promise of a self-serve BI initiative. Restrictive business intelligence solutions do not empower users – they merely render prescribed dashboard designs and reports.
The limited filtering and display options in the typical ‘self-serve’ BI tools give the illusion of self-serve BI, but they do not allow business users to access ad-hoc analysis with a 360 degree view of data and the flexibility to interact with data and view information from varied perspectives and angles.
If you limit your business users to static dashboards and BI tools, you will not see the results you want. Your users will not be empowered and it is impossible to hold these users accountable for managing results in a meaningful way when they are unable to see the root cause of a problem, identify a product or market opportunity or personalize displays and views so that they can see data in a way that makes sense for the role they play in your enterprise.
Powerful ad hoc analysis cannot be replaced by static monitoring dashboards and visualization of data. If you want your users to drive business results, you must empower them with interactive ad hoc analytical tools.
If a business user has the ability to perform deep dive analytics and produce and share flexible reports with full insight into integrated data, they are much more likely to achieve the results you want and to identify issues before they become problems. They can use mobile BI tools to maintain a competitive advantage and leverage plug n’ play predictive analysis and forecasting tools to plan for future growth and challenges.
Before you make the decision to acquire a new business intelligence solution or upgrade from an existing solution, it is imperative that you understand the difference between restrictive, limited analytical capabilities and the freedom of a true self-serve, dynamic analytical solution that will empower and free your business users to achieve the results you want.
Additional articles in this seven article series will include:
Myth #1 – All ‘Self-Serve’ BI Tools Are Suitable for Business Users
Myth #2 – True Self-Serve BI Tools Will Compromise Data Governance
Myth #4 – You Don’t Need KPIs and Balanced Scorecards to Manage Corporate Performance
Myth #5 – It is Expensive and Time-Consuming to Give Mobile BI to Business Users
Myth #6 – You Need Data Scientists to Employ Predictive Analysis in Your Organization
A Summary of the Myths and Confusion in Business Intelligence
When you debunk the myths of Self-Serve Business Intelligence, you remove the obstacles and your organization can achieve better results, improve the bottom line and enjoy flexible, user-friendly BI tools that will grow with the enterprise and are affordable and simple to use!
About the Author:
Kartik Patel is the Founder and CEO of Elegant MicroWeb. Domain expertise is in Enterprise Software Applications, Business Intelligence, Enterprise Performance Management & Enterprise Governance via Technology.
Specialties:
Business Intelligence & Corporate Performance Management, Predictive Analytics, Smart Data Discovery
Kartik can be contacted through kartik (at) ElegantJBI.com
