5 Tips for a Successful Business Intelligence Strategy

Most modern businesses invest in their Business Intelligence (BI), mostly by implementing new BI software platforms like Microsoft Power BI. With successful planning and deployment, a successful Business Intelligence strategy improves every facet of a business or organization. Additionally, this leads to quicker and smarter business decisions. 

Business Intelligence strategies are advancing and progressing. Therefore, businesses must take full advantage of its capabilities to unlock their full power and potential. A survey conducted by Gartner of more than 3,000 chief information officers (CIOs) concluded that CIOs regarded analytics and BI as the primary technology setting their business apart.

Just like creating and implementing an overall business plan, there are suggested best practices for getting the most out of your Business Intelligence. For example, establishing a clear purpose for its use, taking into account important BI stakeholders, modifying your Business Intelligence strategy to suit your specific business needs and taking advantage of technology for future growth. 

Establishing a Purpose

What you do with your data is important. Therefore, don’t just collect data to collect it-have a purpose for its use. The first step in any business strategy is establishing a clear purpose designed to push your vision forward and help define and reach your goals. Of course, all of these goals are unique to your specific business, clients and industry. 

 During this goal-setting phase, assess the challenges and problems your business faces. This helps you determine your goals and the solutions you’re aiming to achieve. Furthermore, with an established purpose, analyzing your data becomes easier because you’ll know what you’re looking for and why.

Involving Your Stakeholders

With a clear vision in place, consider the important stakeholders involved in your Business Intelligence strategy. For example, data analysts, executives, managers, developers, vendors, clients and more. Understand who in your organization is using data to make decisions and how.

 All of your employees may have different levels of technical skills and knowledge when it comes to data analysis. Therefore, a successful Business Intelligence strategy creates solutions that allow employees to easily understand and utilize data insights based on their specific role. 

Creating a Business Intelligence Strategy that Suits Your Needs

Some BI strategies only focus on data collection instead of on how they employ and share it. Therefore, a successful Business Intelligence strategy takes every phase into consideration. 

 Knowing the main issues your business is experiencing helps you determine which platform features will best help you reach your goals. So, look for areas that need improvement and streamline your processes. Additionally, make sure you’re using tools that provide real value to your organization.

Scaling Your Efforts for Growth

Once the foundation of your BI plan is in place, the next step in the process is optimization. Taking advantage of everything your BI platform has to offer is important for a long-term and comprehensive Business Intelligence strategy. 

 Everybody analyzes and understands data differently. Therefore, assess your current technology processes and consider changes you can make to increase your output and productivity. Additionally, evaluate your success continually to detect trends or sections where you may be lacking. 

Implementing a Successful Business Intelligence Strategy with A Digital Earth

You need the right solution for your business needs. So, while developing and implementing a Business Intelligence Strategy may seem intimidating, the help of a great partner makes the job easier! Our expert consultants at A Digital Earth recommend Microsoft Power BI for your Business Intelligence needs! With Power BI, you’ll have complete confidence that your data insights are providing value and helping you make the most informed decisions for your business. 

Above all, the cost of not having an effective Business Intelligence strategy is much greater than the work it takes to implement one. A Digital Earth offers a FREE 1-hour assessment to help you discover how your company data can transform your entire business!