Self-Service BI

What is Self-Service BI?

Traditional powerful BI platforms have a big shortcoming about which vendors and consultants perfectly know: after implementation of such platforms the number of requests of users to the systems of the business analysis remains to much more modest, than could be. The companies receive powerful instruments of data analysis, but often are not able to use them and do not understand their practical benefits.

By Forrester estimates ^[1], contribute to development of the situation of this sort the following factors:

• Requirements to a BI system change quicker, than the IT and centric model of support can satisfy them. It is possible not to update for years existing ERP, HRM and CRM systems, but tools of the business analysis should work "for topic of the day", as much as possible meeting business needs and the changing factors, whether it be threat of merge or absorption, replacement of the leadership of the company or appearance of new competitors.

• Business and IT can not always support 100% effective communication within BI projects and after their end. In the opinion of representatives of business there is nothing more important than satisfaction of current demands of the company, and terms in which these requirements are ready to provide IT services, not always suit both parties.

Above told at the same time does not mean at all that firms can give corporate BI-applications, complex, critical for the mission of the company, to hands not of professionals. However in fact no more than 20% of all BI systems can be carried in this "strategic" category. According to Forrester, the ideal ecosystem of BI in the company should be organized so that end users could work 80% of BI of requests independently.

According to Forrester, the main components of self-service of a BI system are:

• The interface ground on search (like Google) which simplifies interaction of the user and a system and especially helps with such requests when "it is not known that is not known".

• Possibility of creation of group of analytical applications, simplicity of their installation on any types of devices directly users and also use of such applications from a cloud.

• Existence of tools for independent creation of different analytical scenarios, including like "that, if …". A possibility of independent introduction of new data by users directly in the course of data analysis. If instruments of independent requests are absent, the possibility of their creation in a system by the minimum quantity of completions is welcomed.

• Functionality like data discovery, a possibility of creation of new atypical models of information analysis, work with nonlinear and indefinite data.

• An opportunity to share analysis results of data with colleagues and to use these results directly in workflow.

Main players

Leaders among BI platforms in a Self-Service BI segment

Forrester Research, 2012

By estimates of Forrester Research for 2012, leaders among world vendors of BI platforms in a segment of BI self-service were IBM, SAP, SAS, Microsoft. Rather strong players in this market also yavlyuitsya Tibco, Oracle, Qlik (QlikTech), MicroStrategy, Actuate Software, Information Builders, Panorama Software, Tableau.

See Also

Business Intelligence, BI (world market)

Trends of development of the world market of BI

Business Intelligence (Russian market)

CPM (world market)

Big Data world market

Data visualization

Predicative analytics (predictive, forecast, predictive) Predictive analytics

Cloud/SaaS BI

As Business Intelligence technologies evolve and become available to everyone

Notes