How to Set Your Business Intelligence Strategy Goals for the New Year

Return to Resources

For many businesses, 2020 highlighted the need for better business intelligence reporting. As executives scrambled to make sense of the changes in their markets, companies that had not invested in business intelligence solutions struggled to make decisions without reliable, meaningful information.

We get it. Advanced data analytics and improved business intelligence reporting can be a tough sell, especially to CEOs who for years have relied on experience or instinct to chart the company’s direction. Thanks to 2020, more CEOs now see the need for predictive data and analytics, which gives their businesses a chance to level up their business intelligence strategy. Wondering how to build a business intelligence roadmap? The BI maturity model is a great place to start.

Step 1: Determine where you are in your BI journey using the business intelligence and analytics maturity model, below.

• BI Maturity, Level 1: Businesses who are just getting started on their business intelligence implementation often use data from a single source for reporting and analysis. Excel is the tool of choice. If a stakeholder wishes to combine or blend data from two sources, such as a CRM and a project management system, the IT department is brought in to blend the data.
• BI Maturity, Level 2: Businesses entering level 2 often deal with difficult to read spreadsheets or delays in reporting. Often, there is a desire for a more visual approach to presenting the data. The challenge at this stage is that usually a desire for the ability to blend data, but the lack of a system to extract data from multiple sources, transform it into a consistent format, and load it into a program that can create the visualizations. Plus, we often discover that the data isn’t trusted because of discrepancies between the various data sources.
• BI Maturity, Level 3: At level 3, businesses have entered the world of advanced data analytics. Using cloud-based data warehouses and software, they are able to analyze potential business outcomes, analyze complex scenarios, and apply data in a predictive and prescriptive manner.

Step 2: Level up your BI game.

Once you know where you’re at on the BI Maturity model, develop a short-range strategy to test business intelligence implementation at the next level. Your short-range strategy should be designed to generate some quick wins or valuable insights that will resonate with executives so that they can see the potential for an investment in business intelligence.

Not sure where to start? If you’re trying to get from level 1 to level 2 like most companies are, ask yourself:

• What questions would we ask if you had all the data in the world?
• What data will need to be blended to get the best answers?
• Where is this data now?
• Do we have the ability to blend it quickly and easily?
• Do we need additional software to make it happen?

Step 3: Implement a business intelligence culture.

Business intelligence isn’t just about software. To reach your business intelligence goals, your organization will need to implement data governance protocols and focus on change management. Business intelligence is about how you access and use data and also about how you apply the data. Your business will be much more successful at implementing advanced data analytics and using data predictively when there is an understanding across the organization of the potential for confident decision making  and trust in the information your business intelligence systems produce.

Make it your 2021 business intelligence goal to help your company level up on the BI Maturity Model. We know it can seem overwhelming, but most companies are working on moving from level 1 to level 2. It can be done and your organization will reap the benefits of your investment for years to come.