Small and midsize businesses have greater opportunity when using Business Intelligence. However budgets and resources may be limited. Most but most small to midsize businesses are not as held back by large IT infrastructures that control access and use. Consequently, most small to midsize businesses are stronger through their applications so they can take advantage of interactive technologies without the limitations of large enterprise infrastructures.
Here is how some smaller to medium size businesses are applying BI in the following five ways to take advantage of information assets and add BI to their daily use:
- Using Business Intelligence withi
n their operations to create a seamless interface within their applications by providing easy access to reports and dashboards. - Expanding access to BI through Web portals to increase the types of information shared and broaden who this information is shared with—for instance, expanding networks to suppliers, partners, and customers.
- Mobilizing the workforce through diverse access points, such as tablets and smartphones, to create applications that leverage and interact with BI-related data on a broader scale in the way that is most valuable to end users.
- Increasing flexibility in dashboards and analytics design, enabling IT to develop applications that are easier to consume and more flexible for end users.
- Using BI platforms to expand operational frameworks through broader extensibility by integrating them into other applications through a Web-based interface. This includes expanding BI use to integrate sales or finance systems and creating single access points to both operational and analytical applications within a unified interface.
