Business Intelligence Best Practices

Enterprise business intelligence is an important concept for modern businesses, encompassing the most effective strategies, tools, technologies, theories and practices for managing data. In most cases, business intelligence refers to digital data, as most information is stored electronically in this day and age. An effective business intelligence solution can help a company manage its supply chain and meet its own goals, such as customer satisfaction, productivity, cost efficiency and more, with a range of innovative technologies and tools. Effective technology solutions are especially important for global business intelligence, where the supply chain may span countries and continents, making it particularly difficult to handle all the data. That being said, not all business intelligence solutions are effective. In order to make the most of a company’s big data, there are certain best practices that must be followed. 

Rely on Business Intelligence Experts

Some businesses make the mistake of relying on IT professionals to develop their business intelligence plan because they assume the technology experts will be best equipped to manage the digital data they have at their fingertips. The problem is that effectively managing and analyzing data requires business tools, not just technology tools, and the solutions should be developed by professionals who understand the most efficient and effective enterprise solutions. The best bet is to work with qualified business intelligence consultants who also have programming capabilities in order to achieve a strategic solution that addresses both technological and business-oriented needs.

Make Sure Your Solutions Are Easy to Use

An effective business intelligence solution is one that is easy to use, plain and simple. If it isn’t easy to use, there is a high likelihood of frequent human error that will prevent your organization from making the most of your data. The tools and technologies you develop to manage your digital information should be automated as much as possible, and require a minimal number of mouse clicks otherwise. All tools should be developed with cost/benefit analysis in mind and tested to ensure ease of use with end users. 

Build a Central Database and Keep it Clean

In order to manage your data effectively, you must also build a centralized database where it is all contained, but only after being screened for errors and low-quality data that should be eliminated. This may include all data from in-house sources as well as business partners and other outside sources. The architecture of this database should be carefully structured to support the needs of the organization as it continues to grow and evolve, and to accommodate for new technology tools in the future.

There are many advantages to enjoy once you have a successful enterprise business intelligence system in place. With the right tools, technologies, methods and processes, your organization can manage all levels of your supply chain more effectively and efficiently, even in a global business environment. This will reduce the amount of work it takes to analyze your data and increase the level of accurate, useful, strategic information you have available. With fewer resources devoted to business intelligence, you can focus more on improving your products and services, driving productivity, keeping clients happy and attracting new generations of clients in the future. If you have effective technology tools that are properly implemented, your organization will also have a fuller picture of the data, and not just a micro view of data subsets separate from one another. In the end, this saves time, money and resources while adding substantial value to your business plan. It’s worth the effort and investment to contact the most qualified business intelligence consultants to help put these best practices to use today.

Erik Johnson is the Digital Marketing Analyst for Paragon Solutions, an advisory consulting and systems integration firm that specializes in delivering enterprise business intelligence services for organizations in various industries.