In our last post we discussed the need of BI tools. Click here to read about it.
In this post let us explore the features that we should consider while purchasing a BI product. We shall further explore what makes each BI product stand out.
Before opening the pandora’s box with the tools which are available in the market, let’s talk about the points to consider while choosing a BI product for your organization.
DB Connectivity and data inputs
The BI tool is as good as the data sources it connects to and supports. The critical business decisions can only be made when we have considered all options. To make this happen, we need to ensure we are giving all the data references we have to the BI tool and make good use of it.
Therefore, the BI tool should be able to connect to business data of different types and locations. Data sources can be of various types which includes relational database management system (RDBMS), NoSQL databases, graph DB, columnar DB, API or a non-relational flat data source such as a csv, excel, log files, TSV, JSON … and anything that you need.
The BI tool should not only be able to connect to the proprietary database which your organization is consuming, but also should also be extensible to multiple data sources. Even up to a point that you should have the option of uploading your own DB driver and supporting any new DB also which is not directly supported by the BI product. This can help in making sure that you are always future ready.
Licensing and base cost of product
We all start our organization with the expectation of future expansion. The investment you make should never be a limiting factor in that path. Many BI tools provide a licence option based on your current needs and any future expansion comes with unexpected overheads along with the base pricing. Hence you should always keep this growth factor in mind while choosing a BI product. What is looking cheap today, could be a major roadblock in the future as the number of users increase, as the data size increase, as the number of sessions increase, as the required processing on the server increases. Also, there are some unwanted products that may appear cheap, but the product does not meet our expectations. Do not fall into that trap. Your focus should be on organization growth, do not drain your energy in maintaining your BI tool.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to identify the licencing options that the BI tool is providing. Does it come with a trial before paying? Does the trial have all features to understand the usage?
Once we buy the product licence: Is that scalable? If so, at what cost? Can we switch license based on our needs? Does the licence extend to more than one machine? Does it have a perpetual license option with multi server deployment support?
While we are working on cost, we may also need to consider more than licence. Is the product an open-source solution? Open-source products are always more affordable as compared to proprietary BI product. Many of these open-source BI products are also having a free version available that can be considered, if suits the need.
API Support, Developer friendliness and Extensibility
Building reports and dashboards, analysing data making relevant business information for our use is also an important aspect before our investment really gives some results. The cost, effort and time required to develop reports and analytics is an important factor while choosing a business intelligence product. A well-documented product can reduce the time of implementation of the tool especially helps. There should be a no code/ self service interface allowing people to use the product and with less learning curve involved.
Various commonly used features like embedding, exporting, email scheduling, user role management etc all should be UI driven.
With the breakneck change in technology, a good BI support should also be extensible. There should be extensive API support which can allow users to extend the functionalities and automate things as per requirement. There should be support of various programming languages (like HTML, CSS, JS, Groovy etc) and ability to directly write SQL, this can even extend the usability and applicability of the tool. Can all this be managed by our in-house expertise? There should not be points wherein you need to depend on the vendor. At your end you should be able to add features, capabilities like adding new chart, adding new DB support, adding new aggregate function, adding new customization etc.
Open-source products come with added advantage, with the source code availability there is always much higher flexibility at your end. It can be customized to the extent of your imagination.
Data representation and Visualization.
Every customer can have unique data visualization needs. The chosen BI product should support various kind of charts, table, crosstab, maps that makes data visually identifiable as per the need. Does the application allow that? Also very important is that the product should allow to add any external c visualization also without depending on the vendor. Apart from the visualizations there should also be various options to support the customization options of these visualizations. Apart from that there should be some option of adding custom HTML, CSS, JS to allow to make further kind of changes over and above what is provided out of the box.
Apart from the above, there are also in many cases, need of reporting is multipage pixel perfect document with images for various reasons, some examples of canned reporting includes bank statements, salary slips, P&L statements etc. The chosen BI product should also be able to support such kind of canned reporting requirements it should be customizable based on needs.
Platform and Technology
In today’s world, application working on web browser will be far more usable than a desktop application. We can install it on server and work with our smart phones while commuting or when we are not at desk. Desktop based application needs to be installed on all machines, this also increase the cost if we expand in future. Depending on the technology used there will be limitations like which OS it runs on.
Further where does the data reside? Does it provide the cloud based support? Does it allow you to install on your local server and use (on-premise option) for enhanced data security? What other features does the application provide? How many of those features do we need, or will need in future.
Development support:
If we need to change a little option in the application, majorly the providers avoid such requests. Is the BI software provider cost efficient in case if you need them for any custom services? Any customization, should be supported based on your needs. Further, does the provider have any other services other than the application that would help any custom requirement of your’s? This will help you to cater your needs in a whole, rather than adapting to the tool and losing focus on core business.
Bottom line, we need to ensure that the product we invest in, is worth our business needs and value for money. We should not limit our requirements based on tools available. This is where tools like open source developer friendly BI frame Helical Insight are more relevant.