Business intelligence tools: Choosing the right BI product
There are loads of business intelligence tools out there on the market today. Our business intelligence expert provides some valuable resources for choosing the right BI product.
If you don't have current investment in these business intelligence tools, you might consider one of the handful of "framework" approaches to BI that minimizes the number of vendors you need to deal with but yet provides you access to everything, or most everything, you'll need.
There are a few buyer's guides out there for data warehousing on the web such as the one at SearchCRM.com ( buyer's guide/Data Mining & Warehousing) that should provide you a starting point. If you're a member of Gartner or Meta, you can utilize their research or have access to their analysts. DM Review magazine has tool reviews in each issue and at their website at www.dmreview.com.
Choosing a business intelligence tool can be a minefield. I would highly recommend the services of someone experienced in BI that can do a quick study of your needs, recommend a short list (or final recommendations) and a process for selection that may include an RFI and/or in-house testing.
- Check out some more expert advice on Choosing a business intelligence reporting tool