Business Intelligence Software – 9 Mistakes to Avoid

Shopping for a business intelligence software solution requires a good strategy that takes into consideration the business needs and requirements. It is not something to be entered into lightly.

In a recent InfoWorld article, Jennifer Schiff outlined the following nine mistakes to avoid and offers advice on how to get the most out of one’s BI software investment:

• Mistake #1: Not defining the business problem(s) you are trying to solve. Companies [should] not rush into leveraging any BI tools unless they have a distinct business case.

• Mistake #2: Not getting buy-in from end users (before you choose your BI solution).
• Mistake #3: Not factoring in security or legal requirements. Make sure your new BI system works in accordance with your company’s data security policies and legal obligations.

• Mistake #4: Being dazzled by features and forgetting about legacy systems and integration. While features are important, it is also important to make sure the BI solution you choose integrates well with your other business systems.

• Mistake #5: Not choosing a solution that can scale and adapt. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is choosing a solution that’s not agile.

• Mistake #6: Not factoring in the mobile workforce. In some cases, a simple KPI displayed on a smartphone is as useful as all the paper-based reports in the world.”

• Mistake #7: Rushing implementation. When deploying a BI solution, patience is a virtue.Deploy your business intelligence software incrementally.

• Mistake #8: Insufficient training (and miscalculating the costs of training). Many organizations exhaust their BI budgets on software licenses and don’t leave enough resources for comprehensive user training.

• Mistake #9: Not leveraging intelligence (collected data) and reporting. Companies should “maximize the reporting capabilities of their [BI] software, [so that they are] better able to predict and head off problems and identify risks.

For more information on BI software mistakes, see the full InfoWorld article.