Businesses large and small face a similar problem. They are all but drowning in data that all the publications say you can use to improve your business. All of these useful insights you glean from all that data generally fall under the heading of business intelligence.
In theory, BI can help you make better and faster decisions, improve productivity, and even spot trends early. In practice, many businesses lack people with the right skills to turn all that data into business intelligence. Enter business intelligence consultants.
These consultants bring the necessary analytical skills and tools for transforming your data into useful information. If you think you need a BI consultant, keep reading for five things to keep in mind while picking one.
1: Experience in Your Industry
When considering options for consultants, you should pay attention to whether they’ve worked in your industry before. Industry-specific BI consulting experience will help them zero in faster on the information that matters for your business. It will also help them recognize industry quirks that might go over another consultant’s head.
2: Good Communication Skills
Good analytic skills are only as useful as the consultant’s ability to talk to you about what they discover or even just to explain why something appears on a dashboard. They should demonstrate responsiveness in terms of quickly replying to emails or phone calls. Reading online reviews can help you pin down BI consultants with good customer service skills.
3: Reliable Technology
Good consultants for businesses don’t embrace every tech fad that comes and goes. They work with known and reliable technology, like Power BI.
That helps ensure that you can get software support quickly if something does go wrong. It also means you can find helpful guides and tutorials if you need them.
4: Budget
BI consultants come at all kinds of price points. Consultants that work with Fortune 500 companies will charge Fortune 500 prices. You will need a solid BI consultant budge in mind before you go looking for one.
Otherwise, you may well end up focusing on consultants you simply cannot afford.
5: Security Conscious
The digital world comes with all kinds of known and new threats that range from straight-up brute force attacks on your network to social engineering scams. Since BI systems often integrate with all of your primary data sources, they’re at risk. You need a consultant with a firm handle on modern digital security measures to help keep your data safe.
Business Intelligence Consultants and You
Collecting a lot of data from your customers and potential customers can prove a huge benefit to your business, but only if you can turn that data into meaningful insights and information. Business intelligence consultants help you do exactly that.
That doesn’t mean any consultant will do. You want one with industry experience, good communication skills, and within your budget. You also want one who uses known technology and brings a keen security consciousness to their work.
Looking for more tips on data management? Check out the posts in our Technology section.
