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The Importance of Business Intelligence in IT

July 22, 2014

Though traditionally overshadowed by other key technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization, business intelligence has been around for years but has been largely dominated by mega- vendors such as IBM, Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft. BI is the process of taking raw data, organizing it, and presenting it in a way that allows for business and IT leaders to use the end product to make informed decisions about organizational effectiveness, customer service, and ROIs.

Who Needs Business Intelligence?

According to Gartner, Business intelligence (BI)is an umbrella term that includes the applications, infrastructure and tools, and best practices that enable access to and analysis of information to improve and optimize decisions and performance1. Regardless of your organization’s size, there are several good indicators that a business intelligence platform may be the right solution for your business. They include:

  • The need to integrate data from multiple business applications or data sources
  • Lack of visibility into the company’s finances and operations
  • The need to access relevant data quickly and efficiently
  • Rapid company growth or recent company merger/acquisition
  • Introduction of new products
  • Upgrades within the IT environment

Not Just for Business                                                                               

Business intelligence tools aren’t beneficial to just business professionals, but IT professionals alike. Such tools allow IT to have insight into their operations and make suggestions for improvements, which help to achieve business goals more easily and more efficiently. The purpose of BI is to support business decision-making via real-time, interactive access and analysis of important corporate information. A proper BI system helps with obtaining the right information, at the right time, in the right format bridging the gaps between information silos of an organization. Below are four benefits offered by implementing business intelligence into your existing infrastructure:

1. Seamless information sharing: BI makes it simple for everyone within an organization to access and analyze up-to-date information from anywhere, at any time. It allows for better decision making at a faster rate.

2. Simplifying collaboration: Having a central location allows you to monitor key performance indicators, analyze data, and access reports.

3. Deliver reporting: BI tools make it easy to track and analyze KPIs against key business goals to gain a better understanding of how the organization is performing and ways to positively impact that performance 

4. Generate info-graphics for visual understanding: For business and IT professionals who learn and internalize information in a more visual manner, business intelligence may have a benefit that other forms of data collection don’t include. See how BI is valued in different ways by business and IT professionals, click through to view this info-graphic.

The key importance with BI is to look for realistic areas where real measurement will make a difference. Most businesses have a lot of areas that can and should be measured. BI software – tools, platforms, and applications alike – holds great potential for helping organizations readily access the enterprise information needed to make informed business decisions and, ultimately, achieve their business objectives. By implementing a business intelligence program into your company, you may be able to take advantage of these benefits other industry professionals are already enjoying and utilizing.

What role does business intelligence play in your organization? Let us know in the space below!           

Posted By: Ariana Hampton- Marcell

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