Only 15% of ERP users have a BI solution according to a recent survey.
The well respected ERP portal MSDynamicsworld.com has just completed a survey on business software users' attitudes to BI tools. The survey was a success, with 432 respondents offering insight into their desire for improved analytics, challenges in analyzing and reporting Dynamics data, problems with offline spreadsheets, highlighted areas for organizational improvement, and barriers to business intelligence.
Respondents said that huge amounts of data from Dynamics ERP and CRM applications aren’t being used to effectively solve management challenges. Users want more from their data, with over three-quarters saying they need to improve analytical capabilities to stay competitive.
Dynamics users also said they face challenges in making better use of the data, including reliance on technical staff, the time taken to perform this work, and not having the right tools. “Business users have a clear desire to perform analysis themselves, without relying on technical staff, but aren’t sure how to make this a reality,” the survey concluded.
For example, nearly 72% of respondents said they use spreadsheets for analysis and reporting, but problems arise because they are not connected to the original Dynamics data source. The problems include human errors and data accuracy; the integrity of the data with users having multiple ‘versions of the truth’; and the time it takes to extract the data.
The three big areas identified as most affected by a lack of data access are operational efficiency, containing costs, and managing inventory. Not surprisingly, this differed for CRM customers, who focused on sales improvement.
In other results, the survey found only 15% of respondents actually have a business intelligence solution. The main barriers to getting BI include lack of budget, and a belief that BI takes too long to implement and gain a return on investment. Businesses are also worried about working with their IT departments to implement BI; and are concerned that software be user friendly to minimize the reliance on IT.
ZAP Technology's BI tool was developed specifically for Dynamics NAV and includes a wizard which means that deployment takes no more than a few days. Any schedules in NAV can be ported straight into ZAP and, using drag n drop, users can quickly build a series of dashboards which provide focus on what's going right, and wrong, in their business.
Download the ZAP overview at http://www.turnkey-bs.com/p_BS_KPI_Dashboard.aspx
Tuesday 29 June 2010
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