BI Breakthrough: No Data Warehouse Required
Reprinted with permission from IBM
Business intelligence (BI) helps put data together in meaningful ways. Here we dispel the myth that BI is too expensive or too complicated.
On a smarter planet intelligence is incorporated into everything from phones and cars to appliances and the electric grids that power them. Data is being captured as never before. The question is, how can we use it?
The same scenario is true for midsize companies, where there's also an abundance of data coming in. Managers have access to reports from ERP systems, CRM, the general ledger, sales systems and more. The problem is that this data all too often resides in separate, siloed systems, so the challenge is putting it together in meaningful ways. Spreadsheets from different departments can be difficult or even impossible to merge, and getting answers to pressing business questions is all too often a very time-consuming and labor intensive process.
While business intelligence (BI) solutions can address these challenges and provide a competitive advantage, many midsize companies shy away from BI initiatives, assuming that it's too expensive and too complicated. Another misnomer is that BI must involve a full-blown data warehouse at the onset, In fact, getting started with BI need not be complicated, nor expensive.
A successful approach to BI involves taking small, discrete steps, but in the context of a long term roadmap. By starting with a well-defined business problem where quick results are likely – companies can achieve results that provide proof of concept.
