A Guide to Developing a Business Intelligence Strategy

Establishing a business intelligence strategy is vital to any organization’s success, as those without one often struggle to see an adequate return on their investments in data and business intelligence tools.

Your BI strategy must align with the overarching goals and vision of your business, providing actionable information to every employee.

Defining Your Goals

As a business intelligence professional, your goals should be both pragmatic and strategic. For example, if your company is at an early stage of maturity for business intelligence (BI), set quantifiable goals to deliver data-driven insights to assist stakeholders with making better decisions. Furthermore, devise a long-term plan for maturing to the next level of sophistication such as predictive analytics or becoming an authority in specific analytical domains.

Consider seeking professional certification or becoming a thought leader by speaking at industry conferences to expand your professional network and sharpen your leadership abilities. Mentoring junior business intelligence analysts is also an excellent way to demonstrate leadership potential while strengthening communication, organizational, and stakeholder expectations management skills. A high-level BI roadmap with clear expectations regarding end state objectives as well as timeframe is necessary when managing stakeholder expectations; this includes documenting infrastructure/application architecture/data management processes/and governance team roles/responsibilities etc.

Identifying Your Data Needs

Companies generate huge volumes of data; but without proper tools and strategies to leverage it, much of this information goes unutilized. Business intelligence tools can transform raw data into insightful answers and information that support strategic decision-making for gaining competitive advantages.

Business intelligence goes far beyond data analytics; it encompasses all steps involved in collecting, transforming, analyzing and presenting your information. Furthermore, this field includes procedures and processes designed to address data quality issues; break down siloed systems; and establish internal data standards.

Step one in creating a business intelligence strategy is identifying your organization’s data needs and planning how you’ll meet them; this may involve creating a data team and devising an implementation roadmap; also, prioritizing planned BI applications so they align with company goals and strategic objectives for maximum return on your investments in BI.

Developing a Roadmap

No matter your goals – be they to streamline supply chain management, improve customer service or increase marketing efficiencies – having a solid business intelligence strategy will be instrumental in reaching them. However, before embarking on implementation you need to first create an actionable roadmap outlining all steps taken towards implementation of said BI strategy.

This roadmap should outline the key business issues and solutions, proposed end state, timeline and key milestones – and ensure stakeholder expectations are properly managed throughout their journey to success.

Make sure to involve stakeholders from all departments impacted by the new plan in discussions surrounding it. Everyone must understand the value of data and how BI can assist in meeting goals; then more likely will they adopt tools related to data analytics and adopt a data-driven culture. Lastly, ensure any resistance to change is addressed by providing adequate training and support – this will make transition much smoother while decreasing frustrations.

Developing a Training Plan

BI tools make it simple to analyze data and identify business trends, yet users require training in order to use these tools effectively and take full advantage of what a data-driven strategy can bring about.

An effective BI strategy requires more than technology; it requires an implementation and maintenance team. This means identifying and employing the appropriate individuals to carry out business intelligence processes – this could involve assigning IT staff or hiring new employees who specialize in reporting or analysis as part of this team effort.

Establishing a training plan can ensure that BI programs are successful and effectively integrated into daily operations of an organization. Businesses should use the schedule to align with organizational priorities and employee availability so that all members of their workforce can easily incorporate BI into their everyday tasks. Training should also highlight how BI solutions can enhance internal operations as well as customer experiences.