In many companies using analytical tools for data, software or BI software is common practice. Implementation of these programs typically arises from a need to replace inefficient spreadsheet-based data collation and analysis, to gain information that will aid in making better business decisions. These solutions typically work on either a departmental or business level and display data to detect trends and look for anomalies. The reality is that reports and analytics dashboards are not sufficient to provide the necessary support for decision-making. Businesses require an effective Decision-Making Platform to help bridge the gap between analysis decision-making and implementation. It can provide crucial information that would otherwise be overlooked.

 

Business Intelligence is not enough to make informed decisions

 

Data visualization tools are only able to can be used to aid in business decision-making since the steps involved in making a decision are far more complicated than simply reviewing reported information and making a decision. In many situations the use of spreadsheets for analysis is necessary because visualization tools don't give the necessary information needed. This is not a great promotion for a standalone BI software, but it is a factual statement for companies that want to improve their decision-making efficiency and effectiveness.

 

Take a look at the steps that are involved in the process of making decisions

All strategic, operational and tactical choices are made in several levels.

 

The problem to be solved is usually identified by an organizational need or requirement

 

To make an informed choice, you must conduct research relevant data

 

Other options to consider, internal and external elements that could affect these choices and the outcome that could be a result of the decision

 

The choice of the best solution

 

The results of the review will assist in the making of future decisions

 

While the level of difficulty in each of the above stages can differ depending on the kind of decision, there are always several things to think about before making a final decision. Let's take an example. A manufacturing company would like to boost sales of the product it manufactures and is looking into hiring more salespeople to achieve this. How can they decide whether or not to go ahead with the recruitment? A BI tool could be used by management to study sales figures for different items and capacity of production lines' output. The data can be compared with their previous experiences to decide whether or not to hire. To learn more info about decision-making, you must visit roll a d20 site.

 

What are Decision-Making Platforms ? And how can they assist you to make better decision-making

 

The Decision-Making Platforms combine planning, analytics, and forecasting functions into a single solution. This lets users execute Business Intelligence style reporting, analysis and also allows them to utilize the same data for Enterprise Performance Management activities like planning and modeling scenarios.

 

If we link Decision-Making Platforms with the decision-making process mentioned above and our manufacturing scenario, we can see why they are able to provide the missing link, and bridge the gap between data and decisions:

 

Identification The identification of the need in the business. In this case, the need to increase sales of a particular product.

 

Research: The decision-making Platform includes detailed Business Intelligence capabilities, which can be utilized to analyze data from various sources within the company. This could be sales figures by product, headcount, and production capability. These are presented in interactive, visual dashboards or reports. Although this provides background data that could influence the final decision to hire but it's not enough. To be truly valuable, it must be the use of additional analysis or insights.

 

Evaluation The evaluation stage is where Decision-Making Platform's power is realized. It's also where the gap between data, decisions and data is addressed. Because they're unified, Decision-Making Platforms have the ability to take the same information as they perform Business Intelligence analysis, apply logic to it, and allow the user to rapidly evaluate the various options and see the potential impact they could have on business.