| The biggest mistake that many businesses make is to | | | | performing and why, then you are doomed to fail. This |
| underestimate the value that business intelligence can | | | | is as certain as night is day. |
| add to any sized business. It has been universally | | | | But what you may not realise is that a business |
| agreed by the business world that your assets lie in | | | | intelligence tool can be as simple as an excel |
| many places. Yes your plant and machinery is one of | | | | spreadsheet. Yes there are many that are more |
| them but this pales in significance when you compare it | | | | complicated and intricate but at least it's a start. And |
| with the assets that your staff brings with them. | | | | start you must. BI reporting tools need not be |
| However more and more people are realising the huge | | | | expensive, many of the tools available on the market, |
| value that analysis of your business, past and present | | | | come in suites, and you can choose the ones that you |
| can and does bring to the table. If you do not | | | | need, and only pay for those. |
| understand in great detail how your business has | | | | In fact your bank manager can probably recommend |
| performed in the past, both the positives and the | | | | some. You don't necessarily have to buy them through |
| negatives then how can you move forward? How | | | | your bank; it is usually cheaper to get your own. Most |
| can you drive a business forward to growth without | | | | packages offer great support and training and are |
| this basic knowledge? Well essentially the answer is | | | | user- friendly for the novice. |
| you cannot. | | | | If you even run your own market stall, then you should |
| In today's competitive markets, luck and flying by the | | | | still be using some form of business intelligence tool to |
| seat of your pants no longer cuts it. Now matter how | | | | grow your good business and kill off the bad. It is not |
| successful your brand and or product is, if you do not | | | | about how much you sell, but about how much those |
| have a grip on the basics of how your business is | | | | sales bring into your bank account. |