In a time of economic turmoil, business intelligence (BI) initiatives stand out for their potential to improve corporate performance through better use of data gathering by disparate systems. Compared with many enterprise IT projects, BI requires relatively modest investments. One of the most important trends in information technology has been the emergence of a market for general-purpose business intelligence tools that can be aimed at any sort of business problem.

Nothing succeeds like success. In the beginning, the best way to justify investments and improvements in a BI system is to demonstrate its impact with clear business improvements. Look for areas of inefficiency that would benefit, quickly, from data-driven decision making. Show how the company can improve planning, tighten schedules and budgets, and boost productivity and profits.

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