What is BI and How Is It Used?

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BI stands for “Business Intelligence”. Like all acronyms in IT, the definition varies. But I like this definition:

BI is a collection of software that allows organizations to analyze existing data and receive meaningful results.

Think for a minute about your organization. How it collects data as part of its business. You might have an accounting system. Or manufacturing. CRM, MRP, ERP systems are used by organizations by collecting data while creating the goods and services that you use.

Wouldn’t you like to ask your data some questions? You’re probably already doing so. Running reports that your systems already provide…lists of orders. A/R or G/L reports. Inventory analysis sees what needs to be ordered soon.

So, what do you need to start doing some BI for your organization? You need the tools, access to the data, and someone to actually create the reports. And by reports these can be worksheets, charts, graphs, with drilldowns and all that fun stuff!

The tools are relatively easy. Microsoft Excel actually has some decent BI capabilities, as well as the MS365 product called PowerBI (which actually has a free version).

Next, you need to see whether your data is accessible to most BI tools. The most common databases used by applications today are SQL from Microsoft and Oracle from…um…Oracle. There are others beyond those guys, but these are most common. Contact your application vendor and ask how the data is stored and whether you can access it using BI tools.

You might need some help to make sure that the database is appropriately secure. The BI tools should only be able to read the data, and possibly only a subset of it all.

Finally, someone needs to start using the tools. BI tools aren’t the hardest to use, but they’re not the easiest either. I think someone that’s fluent in spreadsheets should be able to pick up BI concepts given some time.

But here’s my question. What question would you like to ask your system? The only limitation is that the answer has to be based on the data that you’ve already entered into the system.

I love the “magic wand” concept. Start by brainstorming what kind of information would help your organization manage and thrive. Then double check that against the data that gets entered into your system.

To be clear, I’m simplifying this process, bigtime. The more complex (or less documented) the data behind your application is, the tougher it will be to pull out the data. And the more complex your questions, the more complex the solutions will be. Start simple, with lists. Things that can be created that follow the way the data is laid out.

And look for ways to test the answers. Sometimes databases aren’t as straightforward as they seem.

The bottom line is the data your organization has collected over the years is a critical asset for your organization. BI, when properly used, can create some strategic advantages and opportunities. And I didn’t even mention integrating data from your application with data from another organization!

Please contact us if you have any questions!