10 inside tips on Business Intelligence

Have you considered Power Bi – Microsoft’s business intelligence solution for NAV and Dynamics 365 Business Central? Whatever solution you have in mind, it’s a good idea to take a closer look at Power BI and the opportunities it offers your company and especially your employees. It’s about being able to share data in an intelligent and immediately understandable – visual – way that provides the insight you need when making small and big decisions.

But what do you really need to be aware of if you want to implement the solution? We’ve put together our own and some of our customers’ experiences into a brief checklist that you may be able to use in your considerations.

1. Get off to a good start

Power BI allows you to get started easily and quickly. But of course it’s also about getting off to a good start and taking the project in the right direction, so you have a solid foundation to build on. For this reason, it’s a good idea to make a plan for the implementation.

2. Anchor the system in the organization

It’s important to clarify one question from the start: who will be responsible for the implementation internally? It should be an employee who has time for it, is passionate about it, and can see the great benefits in sharing data.

3. Employ a dedicated resource if necessary

Some of our clients have experience in hiring a dedicated resource to help develop and maintain the business intelligence activity.

4. Provide the correct data model

Power Bi is a display tool that needs to be "fed" with data in the right way. Therefore, it is important to get that part in place from the start. Choose a data model that fetches the data directly in NAV or Business Central and gives you exactly the data you want.

5. Start where it offers the most value

It takes some time to get started, and good advice is to start where it offers the most value. Consider what insights you need most and start there. This way you can also see the importance of Power BI for your business right from the start.

6. Build on bit by bit

Once you get off to a good start, you can start expanding usage according to the plan you made from the start.

7. Educate your super users and employees

The success of the rollout in the organization depends on the employees take on Power BI. It requires everyone to know how to use the solution. Make sure that education and training are included in your planning.

8. Share data in a whole new way

The Power BI solution offers unique opportunities to share selected data across the organization. It is a big change in many organizations that updated data can now be accessed on the phone. At least, this has given many of our customers a "WOW" experience of how important sharing of knowledge and transparency is for optimal operation.

9. Set no limits on usage

Traditionally, some key employees in companies have had access to the business intelligence solution. The more complex the solution, the fewer users. But this his is changed by Power BI. At one of our customers, more than 50 percent of the employees use Power BI. The customer has realized that hiding data as much as possible is something of the past. For what is business intelligence at the end of the day? It is insight into your own business and why should it be secret.

10. Focus on developing the use of data

Power BI gives you every opportunity to visualize the data you need. Combined with periodic reporting, budgeting and, not least, here-and-now insights. With the focus we all have on leveraging data more and more to provide us with business and competitive advantages, Power BI is the tool that can provide overview and clarity. Make sure to constantly develop your use of data and thus continuously increase the value of the business intelligence solution.

Read more about Power BI here