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Select and Implement a Reporting and Analytics Solution

Select the right analytics solution with our data-driven approach.

Client Challenge

  • Statistics show that the top priority of 85% of CIOs is insight and intelligence. Yet an appetite for intelligence does not mean that business intelligence initiatives will be an automatic success. In fact, many industry studies found that only 30% to 50% of organizations considered their BI initiative to be a complete success. It is, therefore, imperative that organizations take the time to select and implement a BI suite that aligns with business goals and fosters end-user adoption.
  • The multitude of BI offerings creates a busy and sometimes overwhelming vendor landscape. When selecting a solution, you have to make sense of the many offerings and bridge the gap between what is out there and what your organization needs.
  • BI is more than software. A BI solution has to effectively address business needs and demonstrate value through content and delivery once the platform is implemented.
  • Another dimension of the success of BI is the quality and validity of the reports and insights. The overall success of the BI solution is only as good as the quality of data fueling them.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • Business intelligence starts with data management. Without data management, including governance and data quality capabilities, your BI users will not be able to get the insights they need due to inaccurate and unavailable data.
  • When selecting a BI tool, it is crucial to ensure that the tool is fit for the purpose of the organization. Ensure alignment between the business drivers and the tool capabilities.
  • Self-serve BI requires a measured approach. Self-serve BI is meant to empower users to make more informed and faster decisions. But uncontrolled self-serve BI will lead to report chaos and prevent users from getting the most out of the tool. You must govern self-serve before it gets out of hand.

Impact and Result

  • Evaluate your organization and land yourself into one of our three BI use cases. Find a BI suite that best suits the use case and, therefore, your organization.
  • Understand the ever-changing BI market. Get to know the established vendors as well as the emerging players.
  • Define BI requirements comprehensively through the lens of business, data, architecture, and user groups. Evaluate requirements to ensure they align with the strategic goals of the business.

Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should select and implement a business intelligence and analytics solution, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Name Actions
Select and Implement a Reporting and Analytics Solution – Executive Brief
Select and Implement a Reporting and Analytics Solution – Phases 1-3

1. Launch a BI selection project

Promote and get approval for the BI selection and implementation project.

Name Actions
Select and Implement a Business Intelligence and Analytics Solution – Phase 1: Launch a BI Selection Project
BI Score Calculator
BI Project Charter

2. Select a BI solution

Select the most suitable BI platform.

Name Actions
Select and Implement a Business Intelligence and Analytics Solution – Phase 2: Select a BI Solution
BI Use-Case Fit Assessment Tool
BI Planning and Scoring Tool
BI Vendor Demo Script
BI Vendor Shortlist & Detailed Feature Analysis Tool
BI Request for Proposal Template

3. Implement the BI solution

Build a sustainable BI program.

Name Actions
Select and Implement a Business Intelligence and Analytics Solution – Phase 3: Implement the BI Solution
BI Test Plan Template
BI Implementation Planning Tool
BI Implementation Work Breakdown Structure Template

Onsite Workshop: Select and Implement a Reporting and Analytics Solution

Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Do-It-Yourself Implementation

The slides in this Best Practice Blueprint will walk you step-by-step through every phase of your project with supporting tools and templates ready for you to use.

Project Accelerator Workshop

You can also use this Best Practice Blueprint to facilitate your own project accelerator workshop within your organization using the workshop slides and facilitation instructions provided in the Appendix.

Module 1: Launch a BI Selection Project

The Purpose

  • Identify the scope and objectives of the workshop.
  • Discuss the benefits and opportunities related to a BI investment.
  • Gain a high-level understanding of BI and the BI market definitions and details.
  • Outline a project plan and identify the resourcing requirements for the project.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Determine workshop scope.
  • Identify the business drivers and benefits behind a BI investment.
  • Outline the project plan for the organization’s BI selection project.
  • Determine project resourcing.
  • Identify and perform the steps to launch the organization’s selection project.

Activities Outputs
1.1 Identify business drivers for investing in process automation technology.
1.2 Identify the organization’s fit for a BI investment.
1.3 Create a project plan.
1.4 Identify project resourcing.
1.5 Outline the project’s timeline.
1.6 Determine key metrics.
1.7 Determine project oversight.
1.8 Complete a project charter.
  • Completion of a project charter
  • Launched BI selection project

Module 2: Analyze BI Requirements and Shortlist Vendors

The Purpose

  • Identify functional requirements for the organization’s BI suite.
  • Determine technical requirements for the organization’s BI suite.
  • Identify the organization’s alignment to the Vendor Landscape’s use-case scenarios.
  • Shortlist BI vendors.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Documented functional requirements.
  • Documented technical requirements.
  • Identified use-case scenarios for the future BI solution.

Activities Outputs
2.1 Interview business stakeholders.
2.2 Interview IT staff.
2.3 Consolidate interview findings.
2.4 Build the solution’s requirements package.
  • Documented requirements for the future solution.
2.5 Identify use-case scenario alignment.
  • Identification of the organization’s BI functional use-case scenarios.
2.6 Review Info-Tech’s BI Vendor Landscape results.
2.7 Create custom shortlist.
  • Shortlist of BI vendors.

Module 3: Plan the Implementation Process

The Purpose

  • Identify the steps for the organization’s implementation process.
  • Select the right BI environment.
  • Run a pilot project.
  • Measure the value of your implementation.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Install a BI solution and prepare the BI solution in a way that allows intuitive and interactive uses.
  • Keep track of and quantify BI success.

Activities Outputs
3.1 Select the right environment for the BI platform.
3.2 Configure the BI implementation.
  • A successful BI implementation.
3.3 Conduct a pilot to get started with BI and to demonstrate BI possibilities.
  • BI is architected with the right availability.
3.4 Promote BI development in production.
  • BI ROI is captured and quantified.

Testimonials

Very knowledgeable on the subject and helpful to our learning curve. Worst...the hour goes quickly.

Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority viaWorkshop

Great session with Igor. He was able to provide great insight into the pitfalls of PowerBI and a good overall view of the BI architecture

Royal Roads University viaWorkshop

Great advice .. identified future direction of BI/Reporting for us - and gave us a number of products to consider

MCAP Service Corporation viaWorkshop

Very good summary of high level concepts but also able to drill down into very detailed questions. Thank you!

Ceridian Corporation viaWorkshop

Igor has communicated his knowledge in a highly effective and concise manner. It has enriched my knowledge and will be of great assistance as we look to leverage data across RAA

The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia viaWorkshop