Business intelligence (BI) platforms provide organizations with tools to help make better decisions. But with so many BI platforms on the market, how do you choose the right one for your organization? This article will discuss factors you should consider when selecting a BI platform, including ease of use, cost, and support. Keep reading to learn more about choosing the right BI platform for your organization.
What Is Business Intelligence?
Business intelligence (BI) is the process of gathering, organizing, and analyzing business data to help organizations make better decisions. Over the years, BI has evolved to include many functions and features, including data mining, reporting, and performance management. Today, organizations of all sizes use BI to help them make better decisions, improve operations, and drive growth. Whether you’re a small business owner just starting or a Fortune 500 executive, BI can help you make smarter decisions about everything from product development to marketing to staffing.
A business intelligence platform is a software application that enables users to access, analyze, and share data from various sources within the organization. The platform provides users with various tools to help them visualize and understand the data and features for users to share data with others in the organization.
How Do You Choose A Business Intelligence Platform?
When choosing a business intelligence (BI) platform, there are several factors to consider. The first, and arguably most important, is determining the needs of your business. What data do you need to track and report on? What business processes do you want to improve or optimize? Once you have a good understanding of your needs, you can start to evaluate different BI platforms. Many platforms offer free trials or demos, so you can get a good sense of what each one offers.
When considering a business intelligence platform, it is essential to consider accessible data sources. The platform should be able to access data from various sources, including databases, data warehouses, and data lakes. The platform should also be able to access data in different formats, including text, tables, and charts. You also need to consider the training and support available from the platform provider. The provider should offer comprehensive training materials to help you get up and running quickly with the platform.
In addition, the provider should provide customer support so you can get help if you have any questions or problems using the platform.
How Do You Set Up A Business Intelligence Platform?
You can set up a business intelligence platform in a few different ways. The most common way is to use a hosted BI platform, which is a service that you can subscribe to that will host all of your BI tools and data. This is a good option if you don’t have the resources to set up your own BI platform. Another option is to set up a self-hosted BI platform. This involves installing BI software on your servers and managing your data. This option is good if you want more control over your BI tools and data. The final option is to use a combination of hosted and self-hosted BI tools. This is a good option if you want the flexibility to use different BI tools for other parts of your business.
Once you’ve decided on the type of BI platform that you want to use, you need to set up your data sources. Your data sources are the data that you will be using for your BI reports and dashboards. There are a few different ways to collect your data. First, you can collect data from your internal systems already stored in your company’s databases or ERP system. Second, you can collect data from external data sources that are stored in other databases or services. Lastly, you can collect data from manual data entry entered by your team members into Excel spreadsheets or other documents.
Once you have your data sources set up, you need to configure your BI tools. This involves setting up your report templates, dashboards, and data models. You must also configure your BI platform to connect to your data sources. Once you set up your BI platform, you can start creating reports and dashboards. These reports and dashboards can help you make better business decisions and improve your company’s performance.