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DIY BI: A guide to self-service business intelligence implementation
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Article
Business users act as analysts with self-service analytics systems
Business users are able to perform various analyses themselves with the help of data visualization software and self-service BI tools. Read Now
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Article
Marketers address data skills shortage with self-service analytics
Self-service analytics tools can help companies cope with the lack of skilled data analytics professionals, according to BI managers at two marketing firms. Read Now
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Article
Self-service BI empowers users and relieves IT pressure, report finds
A Forrester Wave report addresses must-have capabilities for self-service BI platforms and looks at vendors that are providing those functions. Read Now
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Article
More businesses prioritize self-service BI, empowering users
Learn how businesses are addressing common issues such as poor data quality by empowering users and implementing self-service BI software. Read Now
Editor's note
The objective of self-service business intelligence is straightforward: enable end users to make decisions based on their own queries and analyses, while also freeing up BI and IT teams to focus on other tasks. Self-service BI also allows business users to customize reports to their own needs, rather than relying only on the predefined data and canned reports available in BI systems. However, maximizing the use of self-service analytics tools can be a challenge for organizations, despite their best intentions.
Effective implementation of self-service BI applications and tools requires an understanding of the varying needs of different users and ongoing support from BI and IT professionals to help users throughout an organization take full advantage of self-service functionality. What is intuitive for one user may elude another, in many cases requiring customized training programs for different levels of expertise in order to reap the most benefit from self-service tools.
This Essential Guide offers articles that address self-service BI trends, the technology's potential benefits and challenges, and strategies for managing successful deployments. It also looks at the self-service BI capabilities of Microsoft's SQL Server database and related technologies.
1Challenges and best practices of self-service BI
Managing self-service BI programs is more complex than it appears, as end users have different needs and typically require training and assistance on an ongoing basis. As a result, self-service BI is neither one size fits all, nor a program that runs on automatic pilot. These articles offer insights into how flexibility, carefully selected tools and user support are imperative to self-service BI success.
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Evaluate the advantages, risks of self-service analytics tools
When business users take responsibility for self-service business intelligence, there are some risks involved, but there are ways to mitigate those risks. Read Now
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Article
Much depends on the needs of users in self-service BI
Putting tools in the hands of business users is only the beginning of an effective self-service BI program, explains consultant Wayne Eckerson in a Q&A. Read Now
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Customized self-service software needed to fit diverse users
Different groups of end users will have different needs to consider when it comes to configuring and deploying self-service business intelligence tools. Read Now
2Self-service business intelligence and SQL Server
Boosting the business intelligence capabilities of SQL Server has been a priority for Microsoft, which has designed tools such as PowerPivot and Power View to empower users to make decisions based on their own analyses. The articles in this section offer information about SQL Server business intelligence options, including self-service BI software.
3SQL Server self-service BI quiz
Test your knowledge of self-service BI and how it pertains to SQL Server with this brief quiz.