If you’re looking for business intelligence consulting, you might want to consider a few things before arranging for consulting services. These things include: types of services, experience of the consultant and what will happen after the consultancy period is over.
Types of Consultancy Services
There are quite a few things you can purchase when you arrange for BI (business intelligence) services. You can order software, implementation, training, professional services and after sales support to name a few.
Software can help you extract information to put it into reports for your business. These reports can tell you a number of things about your business as well as help you develop an action plan to improve various aspects of your company from human resources to product delivery and customer service plus expansion to capture more market share.
Your software might be able to be implemented within your existing business tools or might require that other add-ons and processes be put into place so that you can get data that is measurable. A business intelligence consultant can look at your existing infrastructure and make recommendations on several potential solutions depending on what your existing business situation is as well as what your goals are.
Consultant Experience
Is the BI consultant experienced with your type of business and / or your type of accounting software? Depending on the existing infrastructure and your business challenges not all consultants are appropriate.
Are you looking for SQL reporting help and other resources?
Your situation may be basic enough to use a boxed product or you might want a customized solution that’s tailored to your specific circumstances. A skilled consultant will want to spend a bit of time understanding the intricacies of your business so that a solution can be recommended that will help you reach (and perhaps exceed) your goals.
What Else Can The Consultancy Firm Do For You?
Beyond consulting and providing you with software to gather business data, what else can the consultancy firm do for you? Perhaps they can do other services such as report conversion, database administration, customized report writing, training and more.
You should also look to see if the consultant is equipped to provide details on more than one reporting solution. While Crystal Reports might work for some, perhaps something else might be more suitable for you. An independent consultant should be knowledgeable on more than one software offering which will allow them to look at your scenario and recommend the right solution instead of simply suggesting the only solution they have access to.
After you’ve got your new solution in place and everything is running well, perhaps you’ll need training and product support. Your consultant should be able to help you in the future. You might pay maintenance fees or be billed by the hour but you do want to seek a solution that enables you to utilize the same great service going forward. It can be disheartening to find a solutions company that offers you help and gets you going but leaves you deserted after your new solution is live. A great business intelligence consulting firm is able to support your business and become partners with you on an on-going basis.
Reporting Guru is a Reporting Services Company. When you need custom reports in: SQL, .NET, Crystal, BIRT, Excel, Pivot, Quickbooks, Peachtree, Open Source Reporting Software or more. Our experienced data report writers and developers take your report & business requirements to build the reports you need from the applications you already have. We deliver reports on demand or on a timed schedule – always on time & when you need them.
If you would like a free analysis or demo, give us a call 1-800-921-4759 or fill out our contact form.