The quality of your relationships, your interactions, anticipating needs and transparency should determine which approach you take. You will reach a higher and faster ROI this way.

One of the aims of a B.I. project is to form a type of one stop shop for scattered, heterogeneous, non-harmonised, internal and external data. The more you cross-check databases, the more precise and detailed your analyses will be.

This comes from cognitive sciences: information that is presented visually is easier to understand and more readily shared. This is how our brains work. You will have seen this first hand when giving successful presentations to investors, clients, partners. Improve your ability to persuade.

The range of B.I. tools available is wide, varied and exciting. But the most important factor is still correctly identifying the needs. A board member does not have the same information needs as a data miner. Similarly, companies are not all at the same degree of maturity in terms of data and analysis policies. Start with the building blocks, not with the tools.

B.I. makes it possible to anticipate and predict trends. It is not a crystal ball but your past and current performance can reveal some crucial and prevailing trends. Understanding the influence factors of the past is the starting point for understanding the future and identifying potential areas of growth.