Clariba recently carried out a survey about information management with participants at an event. The results were quite interesting since we had most participants mentioning the same pain points; therefore we have decided to share them in this article. To carry out the survey, we used  simple statements that people could identify themselves with - divided into two areas: Business and Technical.  We then asked participants to fill a one-page questionnaire, asking them to check all the pain points they were facing (they could check multiple pain points).

Business Pain Points

When it came to the business side, 45% of respondents affirmed that their boss constantly pushes them for more information. This is a very sensitive topic. We all know that companies can´t afford to make decisions that aren´t based on facts. Therefore if you are the responsible for gathering these facts, you will be under constant pressure. This would be something simple to deal with if it was easy to gather the information you need. However, when we see that 35% of participants complained they are spending too much time consolidating information and 30% did not manage to get all the information they need, we understand why this becomes a big issue. Business intelligence platforms should not only provide you with all the insight you need, but should make it easily available. It can be a daunting task when you have to wait for IT to return queries for a business question you have to answer or when you have to compare 3 different sources of data to find out the true value before a meeting taking place 1 hour from now.

Another common dissatisfaction was around data obsolescence. 40% said their BI systems only provides historical data and they can´t see how the company is performing right now. This can be caused by not having a proper data warehouse in place, or having one that is not refreshed as often as it should or having poorly designed ETL processes. Whatever the reason is, it can lead to poor decision making. When business moves at the speed of light (in a call center for example), to rely on old information can be misleading.

Another issue related to data obsolescence appeared when 40% said they like Microsoft Excel as a tool to manipulate information, but they are not getting fresh data. If you have to prepare presentations or send emails that include Microsoft Excel data, and you have to manually update them not only will you spend a lot of your time on it, but you are also subject to making mistakes. Business intelligence tools must allow users to optimize their time, while reducing manual labor thus minimizing mistakes.

 Technical Pain Points

On the technical side of our survey, the most common complaint was around workload related to information management. 55% of participants stated that their department is completely overloaded. This is also connected to another popular complaint: 45% of respondents state that they have system users calling them all the time. If users don´t have the autonomy to create their own reports and need IT for every query they have to run, the department will become a bottleneck. That´s why offering business users easy-to-use tools that give them the freedom they need to draw insight from corporate data on their own is so important, as it speeds up the information sharing process.

Another frequently mentioned pain point on the technical side is that 40% respondents are not getting the support they need for their BI system. When a problem happens in the BI platform, the impact on a company can be huge, as people make their decisions without trustworthy data to guide them. Therefore, the right support is vital to the correct function of a business, both in SAP licenses and on the BI solutions implemented.

Finally, 35% of respondents don't have the visibility into how their BI systems are being used. When IT has no idea how the system is being used, they cannot optimize the server and the licensing, they can´t understand their users and they can´t be proactive, forecasting when changes will be needed. They need to be able to understand what is going on in their BI applications and ensure BI environments are performing appropriately.

How to Solve These Issues?

Whether you use Microsoft Excel, a legacy BI system or an SAP BI solution, Clariba  can help you solve data management issues that you face on a daily basis.  Clariba´s solutions, which are based on SAP BusinessObjects, the leading BI platform in the market today, can help business users and IT departments to resolve their concerns.

With the full range of SAP BusinessObjects BI modules we are able to provide companies with the solutions they need. We are also capable of developing optimal ETL processes and Data Warehousing with our Data Management services to make sure you have high quality data analysis.

Furthermore, we can ensure your systems are performing to their maximum capacity. Our Support Center has been certified by SAP to provide support on SAP BusinessObjects licenses and also on BI systems and implementation. If what you are looking for is to monitor your BI system, we have recently developed PerformanceShield, a solution that ensures an effective management of your Business Intelligence (BI) system, which is critical to guarantee your organization is optimizing its investments on BI.

Not sure where to begin? The first step is a 360 BI Assessment, based on best practices and an in-depth understanding of your BI platform, tools, content and licenses. If your current BI system has any gaps or challenges, SAP BusinessObjects and Clariba will recommend steps for making it more secure, stable or efficient for all your users and audiences.

If you feel any of the pain points mentioned, or any of the other ones that appear in the graphs, contact Clariba and find out how you can make the best of your investments in business intelligence.