Are BI Suites the Answer?

I was asked recently if I thought BI suites were a good idea. My answer: sometimes they are and sometimes they aren’t. How’s that for a noncommittal response? Actually, it depends.

They’re the answer for large corporations that can devote IT people to that particular line of software. I’ve advised clients to use BI suites to consolidate separate BI offerings from multiple vendors, and it helped them use their BI tools more productively.

But small and medium companies that can’t dedicate their IT staff to these products are better off building a BI solution from smaller vendors. Many of them have excellent products and you only have to buy what you need, not a whole suite. It ends up costing customers less. I’ve had clients switch from larger vendors’ products to Microsoft or their partners’ products in order to simplify and lower costs.

Like a lot of things in life, one size doesn’t fit all.

Comments

[Edith]

I'd like to challenge the common belief that sophistication is a sign of advanced and better solution, BI solution in this case.
Just the contrary, a good data mining BI solution should need no suit at all. Once it has pinpointed key factors, indicators and thumb rules, common data retrieval & presentation tools can usually do all the rest; nothing else is needed.