| You may have the most talented IT team on the | | | | right direction for the business. Less time is wasted |
| planet, but do you really want them spending time | | | | on menial tasks and more time is spent making the |
| developing technology that already exists? | | | | business a success. |
| The business intelligence software packages on the | | | | Cons of Business Intelligence |
| market today are geared towards all sorts of | | | | Without a good BI system, the lofty promises of |
| businesses and some can even be customized to fit | | | | business intelligence usually go unfulfilled. Valuable IT |
| the specific needs that your business has now and will | | | | teams spend more time collecting data than they do |
| have in the future. They also come at a variety of | | | | developing a good plan to analyze it. The time they |
| prices, so you’ll want to shop around in order to | | | | spend creating a business intelligence system is time |
| find the best package for your company’s | | | | that could have been spent developing new |
| needs. Perhaps the most compelling reasons to | | | | technology for the company per the analysis of an |
| invest in a software package can be summed up in | | | | existing business intelligence software program. |
| the pros and cons of using business intelligence to | | | | Because they have to create everything from scratch |
| make key business decisions in general. | | | | they might miss or be delayed in developing valuable |
| Pros of Business Intelligence | | | | analysis tools for the company. By investing in a |
| Business intelligence can be an extremely valuable tool | | | | good business intelligence package, you can bypass |
| for companies when it is used correctly. The ability to | | | | these delays and choose the applications that will |
| look at the results from the analysis of actual business | | | | benefit your business. When choosing a package, |
| data and make decisions can be critical for success. | | | | don’t feel compelled to invest in the standard |
| Key decision makers are able to make decisions | | | | offering. Your company is unique and a good |
| based on fact instead of on hunches or hearsay. | | | | software company will work with you to find the best |
| With the reports generated by a good business | | | | applications to compile your data and produce the |
| intelligence software program, they can make | | | | business intelligence that your company can use now |
| convincing presentations during meetings with sellers or | | | | and into the future. The out of pocket cost might |
| buyers so that the best business decisions are made | | | | seem a bit high now, but the amount of time and |
| all around. Measureable goals can be set and | | | | energy your company will save by having valuable |
| tracked for the company using the BI system, so that | | | | information that can be used immediately and an entire |
| both individual departments and the company as a | | | | IT team that can focus on your business instead of on |
| whole can be on the same page. The transparency | | | | reinventing the wheel will be a better return on your |
| created by the system breeds accountability and | | | | investment over the long term. |
| makes it easier for individual employees to move in the | | | | |