Selecting the right BI tool

Firms these days are investing heavily in Business Intelligence and Analytics as part of their marketing strategy. Selecting the right BI tool is a critical decision in making sure the enterprise is able to fully utilize the potential of its "untapped" data. Factors that are an important part of the decision can be broadly classified under the below overarching aspects:

1) Infrastructure and architecture: Before making the decision, a thorough analysis needs to be done against the firm's existing infrastructure. Questions to be answered are: What new hardware would be required for the BI tool? Would it integrate well with the company's existing IT architecture?

2) Organizational requirements: The firm-specific BI requirements also play a role in deciding the tool. The volume of data to be analysed, frequency of reporting, and the performance levels required of the BI application come under this aspect.

3) Cost-benefit analysis: Detailed demos with possible BI tool vendors must be undertaken to understand the extent of features as it applies to the firm's data. The cost of ownership is then evaluated against the benefits provided.

Besides the above considerations, a good place to start would be to look at the current competitive landscape of BI tools. Gartner's magic quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics applications provides a comprehensive study on the various BI tools available in the market and their current positioning. The magic quadrant is divided into leaders, challengers, niche players, and visionaries. Gartner evaluates the BI products on 17 different capabilities that can be broadly classified under information delivery, analysis, and integration.

Tableau, QlikView, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, SAS, IBM, and MicroStrategy are the top players in BI and come under the "leaders" segment of the market.



References:

1) CHOOSING AND SELECTING BI TOOLS. (n.d.). Retrieved from Passionned Group: http://www.passionned.com/business-intelligence/business-intelligence-tools/choosing-and-selecting-bi-tools/

2) Hendrickson, J. (2011, March 2). Trying to decide which BI tool is best? Retrieved from TechNet Blogs: http://blogs.technet.com/b/tothesharepoint/archive/2011/03/02/trying-to-decide-check-out-this-white-paper-quot-how-to-choose-the-right-business-intelligence-technology-to-suit-your-style-quot.aspx

3) Joshi, N. (2012, May 10). 10 things you (probably) want to consider for BI tool selection. Retrieved from e-zest: http://www.e-zest.net/blog/10-things-you-probably-want-to-consider-for-bi-tool-selection/

4) Sallam, R. L., Tapadinhas, J., Parenteau, J., Yuen, D., & Hostmann, B. (2014, February 20). Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms. Retrieved from Gartner.

5) To, S. (2012, December 4). How To Choose The Right Business Intelligence Tool. Retrieved from SAP Business Innovation: http://blogs.sap.com/innovation/analytics/how-choose-the-right-business-intelligence-tool-022501