Your company’s data is a hidden goldmine that can be leveraged with the right business intelligence solution. Most organizations have plenty of data. The challenge is finding it, synthesizing it, and using it. Who has time to run reports, crunch numbers, and generate complicated graphs?
Instead of placing the focus on working with your data, spend more time using your data. With business intelligence systems, you can say goodbye to complicated spreadsheets and focus more on productive tasks.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
With respect to business intelligence data, automation is king. Automation cuts down the amount of time you spend finding and processing data.
A significant selling point, it cuts down on the time you may be spending now hunting down and identifying mistakes. Manually finding and correcting data entry mistakes can mean lost time and productivity. Automation means you’ll save a lot of time in this area.
But what about post-automation? Sure, you’ve got a great business intelligence system in place, but it still feels like it’s taking too much time to generate and use the data. What’s with that?
If it still feels like your BI work takes all week, the problem may lie not in the data, but in the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) you’ve identified. Too many KPIs is like having too many choices. The more you have, the easier it is to get lost in the weeds and get sidetracked. When you get distracted, you can easily lose track of time, too, getting mired in the details, instead of focusing on the big ones.
If your KPIs don’t align with your strategic objectives and tactics, this can spell trouble. In these cases, you can end up spending more time sifting through irrelevant data. Make sure that your KPIs are aligned with both strategies and tactics to ensure the most efficient use of business intelligence data.
Automation Empowers
Businesses evolve over time. The tools they use should help them grow and scale, too. If you’re running manual reports, you’ll find it even more difficult to adapt to the speed of business. New data must be identified and processed. Old methods no longer work. Tedious reports can get even harder to create each month.
That’s not the case with automation. The more you can automate your business intelligence systems, the nimbler your business. New products change the flow through the entire BI system, resulting in new inputs into reports. The efficiency introduced by automation means users can save time. Plus, it reduces errors often introduced by manually handling the data.
Data Visualization Made Easier
Lastly, manual reports mean manual charts and graphs. If you’ve ever struggled with wrangling with spreadsheets, you know how much time and frustration it can cost you. And just when you think you’ve figured it out, you could make a request for a change and then the project becomes more work than you had bargained for.
Data visualization is within reach with automated business intelligence systems. One click and you’ve got your reports and the tools to help everyone view and dig into the data. No more having to waste hours on refining your graphs when you could be spending time on tasks that bring in money.
Business Intelligence from ASI
If you’re looking for great business intelligence solutions, look no further than ASI. We empower small and mid-sized businesses with consulting that helps you find great software to save time, automate processes, and get to the data you need for smart decision-making and planning. Acumatica, Sage 100, and other products streamline business processes and help your company grow and prosper. For more information, contact us.