Business intelligence is a lot like what it sounds like: a way to make your business more “intelligent” by streamlining the day-to-day processes and procedures that your company goes through. Most companies can benefit from a business intelligence system, as most have a number of outdated, unintentionally clunky or unnecessarily complex processors that can easily be made more efficient with the right tools.

Business intelligence solutions give a company the ability to track, manage and, where necessary, alter its internal information. If, like most companies, your business exchanges hundreds of e-mails a day and manages dozens of inventories, clients, products or services, then business intelligence can help you manage it all more efficiently. And increased efficiency means increased profits.

Business intelligence occupies a space between a business itself and that business’ information technology. For this reason, trust is essential. You can organize a business intelligence center of excellence, headed by a trusted businessperson, to help manage information regarding the intelligence strategy and make sure that no one department or section of the company gets left in the dark. Additionally, the center of excellence can develop new business intelligence ideas and share them with the various sections that make up your organization.

Most businesses use information technology that has unnecessary steps. We’ve all had frustrating experiences with middlemen, misdirected e-mails or lost files. Implementing a business intelligence strategy is a great way to keep your company as efficient as possible to stay competitive in a tough market.