5 Disadvantages of Business Intelligence and How to Avoid Them
If you’re considering implementing BI software to enhance your business operations, your year is off to a great start! But, as with any new software, there are some areas of concern that you might want to address before deciding on a supplier. In this piece, we’ll take you through five issues of business intelligence you will need to consider, as well as how to address them.
What is BI?
Business Intelligence is a software that combines all the tools of business analytics, data mining and visualisation, and infrastructure for better data-driven business decisions. With BI, you’re able to organise your business data effectively, implement proactive changes, and eliminate inefficiencies.
What are the BI disadvantages?
There are so many advantages to BI implementation, but if it’s not done correctly, you’re going to battle with some inadvertent challenges. Here’s a look at what you need to consider before getting started.
1. The initial cost
BI software can be quite pricey when you first invest in it, but the value to your business will be felt almost immediately. For a smaller business, this might prove too much of a cost at first glance, but there are ways around this.
The solution: It’s important to consider the cost-savings in the long-term related to time saved, enhanced operations and revenue-boosting decisions. However, this doesn’t always help when you can’t afford the software from the get-go. That’s why you can consider a self-service BI tool over the traditional model as a way to avoid the costly IT support. You also won’t need all the features available, so you can opt out of more expensive models.
2. Data manipulation
Certain BI software allows for data manipulation that can misrepresent the truth. This could be problematic when you’re using business data to identify areas of business inadequacy and concern. Employees might be tempted to adjust the numbers and indicate a much more positive outcome than what is actually true.
The solution: This is why transparency and accountability must be considered when implementing your BI. Security features and accessibility can be adjusted, and you can even look at an automated business intelligence solution.
3. Fightback from the employees
This is possibly one of the biggest potential disadvantages of implementing BI. Employees or who departments might be against implementation of BI software and disinterested in learning how to use it effectively. This will result in the BI software being a completely wasted investment.
The solution: You’re going to need to cultivate a culture of acceptance by outlining exactly how BI software is going to improve their daily activities. When implementing your chosen BI software, check that your supplier provides comprehensive training in BI use, and whether they offer follow-up support. It’s also important to check the user-friendliness of your chosen BI, the features available and consider a rewards’ system for initial adoption.
4. Data integration
The modern business deals in vast amounts of data on a daily basis, and these can be extracted from a wide variety of databases, data systems and business applications, on-premise and in the cloud. This can make data integration incredibly tricky for users.
The solution: You can deploy a data warehouse as a central location for BI data or use the BI tools to integrate data. By working with a professional BI provider, you can benefit from assistance in this area.
5. Self-service BI
Self-service BI can be a more cost-effective solution for your business, but it needs control and monitoring to prevent a chaotic data environment and conflicting results. Good BI requires solid data engineering and experience in properly interpreting results, which could be overlooked with self-service users.
The solution: You can have BI teams curate data sets in data warehouses to avoid inconsistencies. There needs to be regulation in terms of governance principles so that BI users enjoy innovation while creating useful dashboards.
To address these disadvantages in BI implementation, work with the industry’s best – Canvas Intelligence. They will assess your business to determine the perfect BI solution for you, with all the benefits of this effective software.
You may also like:
