BI is a game changer for any organization looking to solve business problems through data. With technology that transforms your raw data into data insights the business leaders are able to make timely and informed decisions based on the real time data. The ability to see a 360-degree view of your business health at any time is a smart way to build an edge over your competition.
BI is an extensive process of converting your unstructured data from disparate data sources into a structured data layout with trusted KPIs and visualizations. The BI process begins with defining a BI vision asking yourself what business questions are you trying to answer.
The next steps include selecting the right BI platform to meet your current and future business needs; designing a roadmap on how you get there and choosing a partner to help planning and execution towards successful BI implementation and assisting in driving a data culture within the organization with key stakeholders driving BI adoption.
Gartner research states 70-80 percent of BI initiatives fail due to a number of reasons from out dated technology, lack of understanding of scope, lack of skilled resources to lack of business engagement.
Successful BI initiatives require investment in time, technology and resources; projects fail as much of it falls on already thinly stretched internal resources hence, more and more companies are turning to external experts to drive successful BI implementation and strategy.
However, finding the right BI partner is a daunting task. With many consulting companies promising the same results, it is important to engage a trustworthy and dependable partner who will take the time to develop a deep understanding of your business environment, desired results and restrictions before developing a strategic roadmap to get you there.
Some useful tips to select the right BI partner to smoothen your BI journey are:
A BI partner who employs experts with a background in data science can turn numbers into information. An ideal data scientist possesses skills and knowledge in computer science, programming, statistics and computer languages to understand the connectors and Application Programming Interface (APIs) required to integrate data from disparate data sources. The transition from data analysts to data engineers to data scientists is driving the transition from traditional to modern BI.
A BI solution provider with strong technical background on both traditional and modern BI tools can help you select the right BI tool to suit your current and futuristic data needs. There is a plethora of BI platforms available today, making the selection process harder.
But selecting a BI platform that fits your business or industry specific KPIs to show the real business health is extremely important. Investment into a wrong BI platform can cost a lot more than the license fees, it will also mean an opportunity loss to transform the way you run your business.
The right partner is the one who is committed to understand the pulse of your business, current business challenges, the industry you operate in, and your BI vision, can ensure your BI success. A responsible BI partner will help you identify how BI can truly impact your bottom line and the right metrics to measure your business KPIs, to get you answers to critical business questions.
A full-service agency that provides an end-to-end BI solution including licensing, consulting and implementation can save you cost, time and efforts versus hiring multiple agencies for individual requirements. Also, evaluate the cost-effectiveness of bringing in a BI partner in terms of hardware, software and resource related expenses you will incur in implementing and maintaining BI in-house versus outsourcing the job to the BI partner with end-to-end BI capabilities.
A one-stop BI solution provider can not only fasten the process, but also provide support and maintenance services post implementation, helping you realize the value in your investment much faster.
In SaaS (Software as a Service), the length of time it takes to realize value from a service is high as it can take months to implement a solution, if done right. Quicker implementations allow faster benefits as you identify issues and opportunities uncovered through the real time analytics dashboards. A BI implementation partner with the right experience and expertise can reduce the deployment timeline to weeks rather than months, and is worth exploring.
Testimonials is a fair way to check the credibility of a BI partner. Understand the scale, industry, geography of customers served by the BI partner to evaluate if they have sufficient experience and skills to manage your business. Customers are the best story tellers of the solution provider’s efficiency in problem solving, work ethics and dependability in meeting timelines. It doesn’t harm to call up a few of them to gather some first-hand information on your prospective BI partner.
It is important to carefully evaluate the pros and cons of engaging a BI solution provider versus implementing and maintaining BI in-house with limited resources and essential skills. A good BI partner, such as Diacto, can ensure your BI success by handholding you throughout your BI journey not only until implementation but post-implementation too, in managing change and helping you improve BI adoption among the stakeholders.
