Efficient analysis and evaluation methods are essential in times of modern ERP systems. Many companies already benefit from so-called self-service business intelligence solutions and integrate the flexible tools of various kinds into their daily business. But being able to work independently with BI software usually also requires the consultation of an expert to begin with.
Resources and time are precious commodities in today’s fast-paced business world. In this context, the deployed software solutions are expected to make every day work more efficient and to simplify workflows. Above all, conventional analysis and reporting methods often involve considerable effort and cost. To prevent both, and to create more flexibility, many companies have chosen to use modern self-service business intelligence software in the past few years. In the near future, a further increase is to be expected in this area.
Innovative solutions enable users to work independently with corporate data, analyze it and eventually use it for relevant evaluations and reports without having to depend on assistance of the IT department. Because no extensive and continuous communication between end users and the IT department about requirements regarding evaluations to be made is no longer necessary, the expense in terms of time and personnel can be reduced significantly.
Despite the intuitive operating concept, self-service BI tools can often not be readily implemented: particularly for the processing and integration of necessary data sources, it is helpful to consult an expert for advice in advance. During implementation process, basic problems might occur, which often cannot be sufficiently solved with user skills.
For example, in order to determine the complexity and the data structures of modern What is an ERP system in full measure, and to be able to extract the required information and tables, profound understanding of the process, and system knowledge is required. To find and prepare the required data within these structures, service providers can rely in most cases on many years of experience in this field. Furthermore, an appropriate evaluation concept and best practice data models tailored to the specific requirements of the company should be developed before implementation of the self-service business intelligence solutions. Thus, it’s necessary to clarify in advance, what information and evaluations are required by the individual user.
The use of modern self-service business intelligence tools provides many advantages. In addition to the simple and intuitive interface which makes creating evaluations and reports for end users much faster and more efficient, especially the enormous cost, time and resource savings due to not having to depend on the IT department are important factors. However, it should always be considered that expert knowledge is indispensable when implementing a self-service BI solution in order to avoid the problems mentioned regarding data processing and interpretation.
