Business Intelligence tools: How to find the right fit

Picking the right business intelligence tools for your organisation is essential in the current era of big data. With information coming from all angles, it’s imperative to leverage the best software to make sense of your data and parse it into actionable, meaningful decision-making.

Why do you need business intelligence tools?

In their most basic form, business intelligence tools allow you to ‘see’ your data. This means you can watch how your data creates patterns and correlations. That information – including statistics and current trends – can then be used to formulate plans for the future.

In essence, the right business intelligence tools can be harnessed for their predictive capabilities as much as for their capacity to centralise your data.

Choosing the right tool for your organisation

Not all tools are created equal, so it’s crucial that you conduct your due diligence before investing in a long-term solution.

Here are a few basic questions to help ensure you get software that aligns with your data needs: 

• Will the solution be able to integrate with your current system?
• Is the interface intuitive and easy to interact with?
• Does the tool come with user-friendly drop-down menus, search functionalities, filters, etc.?
• Who will use the tool? Experienced data analysts or everyday business users? Will the tool offer real-time value from complex data across these skill sets?
• Does it allow access across multiple devices?
• Does it have adequate security?
• Is it mobile-friendly?

Also, consider the level of functionality you require. There's ‘light’ software that offers basic operations like data visualisation and querying, or solutions that double as a chief data analyst.

IBM's TM1, for example, offers in-depth functionality. Powered by IBM Planning Analytics, this streamlined analysis tool can parse essential data to create financial plans, budgets and forecasts. It also reviews ‘what if’ scenarios so you can test whether certain courses of action are business-appropriate.

Interested in learning more? No matter your requirements, contact our team to discuss the right tool to take your organisation to the next level.