| Data is power. In the age of IT we've all heard this | | | | to large sized companies today have accepted the |
| truism before. All business relies on data in some form. | | | | need for this expense and have factored it into their |
| The sole trader shoe shop on the high street in a small | | | | budget but a surprising number still have not realised |
| town makes business decisions based upon their data | | | | the value and power of information management and |
| all the time, but it is more likely that this data is easily | | | | analysis. It's these companies that will surely eventually |
| collected and translated without the use of computers | | | | be left behind unless they arm themselves with the |
| or databases. For example, if the stock room is heavy | | | | tools and strategies that their competitors are using. |
| on a particular style of shoe but another style has sold | | | | After all, how long would the shoe shop owner, in our |
| out, it's easy for the business owner to know after a | | | | earlier example, survive if he or she kept ordering |
| busy Saturday's trading, that one style is more popular | | | | more of the stock that didn't sell? That would be |
| than another, therefore enabling him or her to order | | | | ludicrous to anyone with an ounce of common sense |
| more of that style and perhaps reduce the price of | | | | yet larger businesses are making this type of mistake |
| the other or send that stock back to the supplier. That | | | | every day on a larger scale but instead of ignoring |
| is Business Intelligence in its simplest form - taking data | | | | information, they are not arming themselves with the |
| and applying good information management to make | | | | information in the first place. |
| good business decisions. That's not to say that the | | | | It has been claimed by the price comparison service |
| small business owner does not benefit from computer | | | | 'uSwitch' that by the year 2020, Internet sales will |
| systems as many do and even come to rely on them. | | | | make up 40% of all purchases. A large majority of the |
| In larger enterprises, however, where the product | | | | remaining 60% of sales will still be managed using |
| range or list of services offered is probably vast, and | | | | computer systems, so the data is there and waiting to |
| sales are quite a lot higher than the small business, | | | | be worked on and analysed. In this fast paced, |
| sales data may be stored in many different systems | | | | sometimes ruthless world of modern business, Data |
| and in large volumes and interpretation and analysis of | | | | Warehousing and Business Intelligence are no longer |
| this data is not only fundamental to the business | | | | add-ons that can be introduced as and when the extra |
| knowing what they are doing right and what they need | | | | funds are available - They are now essential to the |
| to improve upon, but also requires specialist tools and | | | | success and growth of a healthy business and |
| expertise to put that data into the correct format and | | | | choosing the correct specialist solution can be the |
| also to present it in useful ways - Enter Data | | | | difference between survival or collapse. |
| Warehousing and Business Intelligence. Many medium | | | | |