Are you ready for BI? Test the waters first.

I noticed that a lot of the work we have done over the past few years has not necessarily been with a BI platform, such as BusinessObjectsd Edge. For sure Edge offers a whack of functionality for a great price, but in reality, especially in the SMB space, not everyone can afford it. Here are a few ways you can do Business Intelligence without buying a platform:

• Leverage the power of your database engine - most SMBs, somewhere in their business are using a SQL database of some sort. (If it happens to be Microsoft SQL, you're in great shape!) With a modest amount of technical skill, it is possible to use that platform to bring shape to your information. Some of our clients have created data mats using SQL, and we've helped some create multi-company consolidations. Are they as comprehensive and robust as they would be with a sophisticated ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) tool? No, but they're pretty darn reliable, and the cost of deploying and maintaining them was really quite modest - especially when you think of the value achieve.
  


• Use the Force! - I mean, "Use the Power"... of the technologies you already own. Let's face it - we both know you're going to use Excel. It's hard to deny it is a great tool for manipulating data, and with lots of ERP systems providing export abilities, it can be quite easy to get to raw data. Keep in mind when working with Excel that you are now disconnected from the data source, and this is where errors start to occur!!! I'm not saying don't do it, but do it with the knowledge that there is risk involved here.
  


• Let's be Crystal clear! - When we talk about the technologies you already have, I'm thinking you may/probably already have at least one license for Crystal Reports Designer. Now Crystal is not an end-user tool, and does require some understanding of data structures and links. But Crystal is by far the best tool I can think of for designing great-looking reports. And if you give people access to the Crystal Reports Viewer, they can review a report created for them, whether they're on a PC or Mac.
  


• Online Tools - While we're talking about Crystal Reports, did you know you can get a FREE five user start access to crystalreports.com? So with one person creating reports, five others can login securely and view them in a Browser. And like I said - it's FREE! It's one of the best ways I can think of to start testing the waters of Business Intelligence. Use it to gauge your readiness.
  

Hopefully that helps give you some ideas about how to move slowly towards integrating Business Intelligence into your operations. When computerized accounting systems first started to become available, many businesses were reluctant to jump on board because of the large up-front investment. Some tested spreadsheet programs (remember SuperCalc?), using it as an alternative, or as a way of getting some experience. The same kind of path is available for Business Intelligence. And I believe that in the next few years, Business Intelligence can have as profound an impact on your business as computerized accounting did ten or fifteen years ago.

Regards,

Jim