Business Intelligence explained!

Have you been hearing the term "Business Intelligence" often but still do not quite grasp what it means? Check our our latest video that simply explains it in 2 minutes and find out the benefits BI can have on your business! :D

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How Real Time are you?

Take a moment.  How current is the latest information you have to hand? Whether its real-time sales intelligence, or just in time feedback, any business of its sort is rapidly becoming a consumer of highly available and detailed data.

The big question is why is there such a gap between usability and capability? The art of building and using these data tools is still a mystery to most business owners, and has a price tag to match.

Past generations were able to defer decision making by weeks, because the information superhighway simply didn't exist.  Our generation has had to take steps to meet the thirst for information that the front and back office now requires.

Shouldn't the gathering and analysis of business critical data be intuitive, in-depth and economically viable? In short the answer is, yes, and it can be.  The real bar to entry is not the software, but rather our willingness to learn and change our business practices to take advantage of the new information that we are being supplied.

If we desire to be real time, then keeping up with the times both technologically and in the way we do business should be at the for front of every decision we make and the first question any of us ask when we build or buy any new system. 

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HOW TO BECOME INTELLIGENT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS

Time is one of the major challenges businesses face today. With information overload and an accelerated business pace, decisions must be taken quickly in an ever-changing market place.

Unfortunately, decision-makers spend 70 per cent of their time compiling information, leaving 30 per cent to analyse the data and understand what needs to be done. However, thanks to business intelligence, those percentages may not only be switched but allow for better decisions to be taken.

The first priority is facilitating access to the necessary data and presenting a visualisation – a picture – of the organisation that can easily be understood. Access to the right level of information at the right time will improve the decision-making process.

Business intelligence solutions present decision-makers with a ‘dashboard’ on which key performance indicators (KPIs) such as cash, revenue, budgets and profitability are displayed in a graphical user interface.  The concept is very similar to the dashboard we are all familiar with – the one we keep our eyes on while we are driving to ensure there is enough fuel, etc.

Any variance from the budget figures and business rules that require attention will be flagged. In this way, a ‘management by exception’ environment is created in a user-friendly environment.

The amount of data created by other operational systems may overwhelm executives. What executives really need is a panoramic view of the organisation’s performance with the ability to use analytics to drill down into the detail when required.  This is the slicing and dicing concept – a decision-maker can dynamically analyse performance by various dimensions such as segment, industry and brand to report on different measures such as revenue, profit and quantities.  Every dimension tells a different story of business.

Business intelligence solutions empower executives to pick and choose the data they require to take ad hoc decisions. This is revolutionising the way we work by unlocking the full potential of the data that exists within our organisation.

Sometimes this information resides in a number of operational systems that create ‘silos’ – a huge amount of detail on a specific subject matter such as accounts, customers, stocks which do not lend itself easily for sharing across systems. Business intelligence provides the methodology to extract, transform and load the data into a data warehouse.

Connecting to multiple ‘silos’ of data generates an unparalleled synergy and business value creating one version of the truth. This process reconciles the multiple sources of data and creates confidence ensuring the integrity and reliability of the information.

With such large amounts of data, trying to identify variances in performance may be difficult.  But advanced business intelligence tools provide insight to the data and guide the analyst by pinpointing variances and trends and suggesting the reasons for the results.

We live in a virtual world where today’s generation share ideas, discuss and collaborate over social media. Imagine the possibility of discussing performance and trends of the business using the same techniques where executives can share, comment and ask questions all based on dynamic content linked to live data.  Business intelligence tools with these facilities create the ideal forum for decision-making.

Mobile business intelligence is the latest innovation in this sphere. Many decisions are taken on the field, while meeting customers and suppliers.  Giving the mobile work force access to business analytics to dynamically slice and dice the data during a business meeting could prove to be invaluable and provide that edge which could make or break a business transaction.

These business intelligence solutions can give your business that competitive advantage and help executives take the right decision in today’s dynamic marketplace.  Sustained profitability and growth demand investment in such innovative solutions.

Julian Sant Fournier is Innovations & Solutions Manager at PTL

www.ptl.com.mt

Start-IT-up

Start-IT-up

Starting a business is a big step that is not for the faint hearted.  Entrepreneurs who take this step are usually driven by a strong sense of purpose and have a tenacity that steers them to take up the challenge and dominate the niche that they have identified.  This process involves high elements of risk and of the unknown as well as a great reliance on external factors outside the business’ control.

Start-ups are driven by passion and by purpose and they need to be extremely wise with their investments and choices especially in the areas of IT and security, two independent yet very inter-related areas that enable businesses to operate smoothly, keep constantly connected and ensure that their online and international presence continues to flourish despite their current size and resource limitations.

The delicate balance that needs to be struck between choosing a provider that will simply get the job done versus choosing a provider that will understand, consult and support the start-up in its current phase and future growth is a daunting task that, just like starting up in the first place, requires nerves of steel.  It is the choice between a short-sighted technical approach and a more long-term partnership with a reliable and trusted provider who can understand what the start-up business really requires to succeed.  It is the choice between a pure technical supplier or a trusted partner who can appreciate the start-up’s vision, share its drive and support its growth.

http://www.ptl.com.mt/it/news/start-it