Here is a list of considerations to keep in mind when evaluating dashboards. First off, the purpose of the dashboard is vitally important. The main purpose of the dashboard is to meet the specific business requirements. Sometimes companies require operational dashboards to help manage call centers, while other businesses use dashboards to evaluate overall performance indicators and keep track of any potential metrics that can cause a decline in performance.
Secondly, a company must take into account its current business intelligence environment to create a strategic dashboard that is easy to use and provides all of the accurate data needed to make business decisions. It must easily integrate a variety of data sources that provide key performance indicators. This basically means that some dashboard solutions may not necessarily have the capability to provide data on the dashboard given their current IT environment.
Another aspect to keep in mind while evaluating dashboards for business intelligence is that not all dashboards are created equal and sometimes important information cannot be gathered onto the dashboard which causes a major hindrance to gathering and evaluating useful data. For example, certain data sources cannot be placed into a flow chart and other times specific data pieces cannot be separated into different diagrams. The most important point to take from all of this is that every company needs to evaluate what types of data is most useful to them and check to see that it is functional with their prospective or current dashboard to gain the proper insights needed to make powerful decision making.
The final thing to keep in mind while searching for the dashboard that will provide the most value to your organization is to be aware of the different types of individuals in your company who will be utilizing the dashboard. Certain companies allow certain employees to create their own mash ups of data based on the task and roles needed to complete projects while other companies want to see a uniform pattern of data on the dashboard that is universally used throughout the company. All of these points are vital to generate the best possible insights from dashboard business intelligence data.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Busines Intelligence Awards Review
While searching for business intelligence information, I heard that Actuate has been selected as a possible winner for the CODiE prize. The CODiE awards are a peer identification program where gadgets are evaluated and graded by competitors. Out of 1150 entries, Actuate graded in the top 5 technologies for both categories that it entered- Best Business Intelligence Solution and Best Open Source Solution. I am stirred up that Actuate is on it's way to realizing the acknowledgment it deserves. The organization has the technologically advanced bi tools, servers and open source software reporting technologies.
Working for the Business Intelligence trend and specialize in reporting with Crystal and Actuate reports. Both technologies are essential, but if I had to recommend one over the other, I would give Actuate a few higher points than Crystal. Both have similar interfaces and require the almost the same amount of effort and capability to create a report. From what I think, Actuate reports have been easier to maintain over time because Actuate does a better job of supporting libraries and components.
Working for the Business Intelligence trend and specialize in reporting with Crystal and Actuate reports. Both technologies are essential, but if I had to recommend one over the other, I would give Actuate a few higher points than Crystal. Both have similar interfaces and require the almost the same amount of effort and capability to create a report. From what I think, Actuate reports have been easier to maintain over time because Actuate does a better job of supporting libraries and components.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
BI Tools - Best Practices
A majority of business intelligence projects tend to fall short of expectations because of a lack of understanding on how to utilize business intelligence tools to their maximum potential. By leveraging bi tools with understanding of the industry trends, the amount of data that can be analyzed by these tools increases tremendously.
Business intelligence software was created to allow individuals in companies to generate powerful decision making by leveraging accurate and timely information. To make sound business decisions, having the proper data in a timely fashion allows companies to make rapid decisions on the fly and also allows them to change direction very quickly because the information is widely available to all the members of the organization in a universal format that is readable to all.
It use to take months for reported data to show up on the desk of a decision maker. Now with software business intelligence, the data is available 24 hours a day and shows up in real time. Given this new ability, departments can now make decisions themselves and also adapt to the ever changing business landscape right away. They can also generate reports themselves and send them over to other departments in real time to help take immediate action.
This actionable information is vital for a company to keep up with rapidly progressing business environment. BI tools can potentially give the upper hand versus competitors because of the quick flow of information to decision makers. But there is a drawback to business intelligence and that is because it is not suitable for every type of company.
The main problem is the complexity of data that top decision makers must check to verify if the action that they are taking is suitable for the companies long term goals. So what’s the solution? Basically, not every company needs to aggregate complex data to get the job done. Sometimes simply following the traditional pattern that has been bringing in consistent results is more than enough to keep the company on its path for its future horizon.
Overall, business intelligence tools are here to stay but they might not be the best choice for every type of company. Certain industries such as technology industries, it is vital to be able to change at a rapid rate and make decisions on the fly. In these cases, it is very important to have the proper data in front of them at all times to make actionable plans and implement them as soon as possible.
Business intelligence software was created to allow individuals in companies to generate powerful decision making by leveraging accurate and timely information. To make sound business decisions, having the proper data in a timely fashion allows companies to make rapid decisions on the fly and also allows them to change direction very quickly because the information is widely available to all the members of the organization in a universal format that is readable to all.
It use to take months for reported data to show up on the desk of a decision maker. Now with software business intelligence, the data is available 24 hours a day and shows up in real time. Given this new ability, departments can now make decisions themselves and also adapt to the ever changing business landscape right away. They can also generate reports themselves and send them over to other departments in real time to help take immediate action.
This actionable information is vital for a company to keep up with rapidly progressing business environment. BI tools can potentially give the upper hand versus competitors because of the quick flow of information to decision makers. But there is a drawback to business intelligence and that is because it is not suitable for every type of company.
The main problem is the complexity of data that top decision makers must check to verify if the action that they are taking is suitable for the companies long term goals. So what’s the solution? Basically, not every company needs to aggregate complex data to get the job done. Sometimes simply following the traditional pattern that has been bringing in consistent results is more than enough to keep the company on its path for its future horizon.
Overall, business intelligence tools are here to stay but they might not be the best choice for every type of company. Certain industries such as technology industries, it is vital to be able to change at a rapid rate and make decisions on the fly. In these cases, it is very important to have the proper data in front of them at all times to make actionable plans and implement them as soon as possible.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Business Intelligence Now On The Cloud
SAP has recently announced that it will be promoting the use of cloud computing by leveraging their SaaS business applications and placing them on cloud data centers. Some of SAP's clients have already started using the cloud and SAP feels confident that others will be doing the same very soon.
A perfect example of a major corporation using cloud computing is Levi Strauss. Since placing majority of the business intelligence on the cloud, there has been a total cost reduction of Levi's IT operations. They have also reported that the since using cloud computing they now have the ability to make changes very quickly and address problems as they arise and take immediate action to resolve them.
SAP tends to dominate the global business intelligence software market and as more companies move onto cloud computing, the numbers will continue to rise. Business applications on the cloud are allowing companies to quicken the pace of communication between departments and allowing for changes to happen real time from the top level down.
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A perfect example of a major corporation using cloud computing is Levi Strauss. Since placing majority of the business intelligence on the cloud, there has been a total cost reduction of Levi's IT operations. They have also reported that the since using cloud computing they now have the ability to make changes very quickly and address problems as they arise and take immediate action to resolve them.
SAP tends to dominate the global business intelligence software market and as more companies move onto cloud computing, the numbers will continue to rise. Business applications on the cloud are allowing companies to quicken the pace of communication between departments and allowing for changes to happen real time from the top level down.
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Thursday, May 20, 2010
Brief History of Business Intelligence
Discover the history of business intelligence and how it came into existence. The video explains the entire creation of business intelligence reporting from the idea to it's modern day status in realm of operating a business and aggregating data. Also, learn about where bi is headed in the future and what that means to your company and business.
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