The difference between reporting software and BI software

This article is mainly the collision of some points of view, in order to better let the reader understand, some places set up two different roles for dialogue. May be a bit messy, but this is not an academic paper, to express our work in the face of some of the problems, the elaboration of their own views, we are more valuable advice, can also be fully discussed.

I. Report ≠BI

A lot of people think that the report is bi. In fact, reports are just a part of BI, and although the results of BI applications often need to be presented through reports, Bi is definitely not just a report.

In fact, the understanding of these concepts, like 15 years ago, like ERP. 1998, the domestic two big giant Kingdee and Ufida began to claim from the financial software into the field of ERP, then, ERP is gradually known to the world, ERP in the end is what, we began to vary.

Finance + Invoicing is ERP? ERP is not called ERP without MRP? Obviously, foreign ERP manufacturers and domestic ERP vendors to the public to understand the guidance of ERP is not the same. Process twists and winding, we do not say, now we only summed up 15 years later today, we have an understanding of ERP is still biased? are the ERP manufacturers still emphasizing different concepts? The answer is, no, we all unified, back to the original point: ERP is actually a system, It emphasizes that enterprises use information means to the matching of various resources systematization, only these resources to match systematization, can maximize the efficiency, reduce costs, thereby enhancing competitiveness. And in the end ERP includes which function module, has few people to emphasize. Now China's senior management has put forward a "collaborative innovation" concept, in fact, it is quite in line with the original intention of the ERP (just, it is now the OA product vest, this is not the table.) )

So, we have reason to believe that finally, the understanding of BI will return to the origin of reason: that is, BI is a decision-making intelligent system, the core of which is to help enterprises to use good data, so that decision managers access to key information anytime and anywhere, so that decision-makers based on digital decision-making, and ultimately improve the level of decision-making. As for what technology to achieve the above goals, slowly, it will become less important.

So, based on our understanding of the present stage, let's compare the relationship and difference between the report and the BI, so that we can think about what we really need.

Two, Excel report VS BI

Let's take a look at the current stage of how everyone is to meet the needs of decision-making managers analysis: More than 97% is through the Excel table manual collation of various reports, less than 3% use it technology, the implementation of the report automation. As policymakers demand more and more analysis, reports are growing and becoming more complex (even the so-called "Chinese-style report" – In an Excel page that is dotted with everything the decision-makers care about, only hates the screen or not big enough). As we all know, these large number of manual processing, is very easy to error, and can not be obtained in time. As a result, many companies have someone in charge of report making, and these report makers have worked overtime to become commonplace. What is the effect of our efforts? We visited a large number of business decision-makers, when asked them: The newspaper came up thick a stack of reports, do you see? Most of them will answer: there are only one or two of them. No time, really feel a problem, or directly to someone to ask.

Yes, that's the point--we provide a lot of statements from policymakers, why not help?

Because once the information is too much, it becomes a "flood of information". Mosh Rubinstein and Alice Furstenberg wrote in the book Brain Organization, "a European gentleman in the 17th century," the amount of information in the lifetime of contact is not as good as today's daily newspaper. "A large number of reports still leave policymakers mired in" information floods ".

Ask the decision-makers again, how would you like to send the information to you? I'm not sure, but we're hoping that when there's a problem, I can always tell. ”

In other words, a report cannot achieve the "hope" of decision-makers. The core of this sentence is two points: first, there are problems to let me know, no problem, in fact, I do not need to pay attention to. The second is that I can always know.

Let's think again, can the report be realized? One, the report simply cannot quickly let the decision maker identify if there is a problem, it just lists a bunch of numbers. Second, no matter how bad the report maker is, it is basically impossible for the leader to have what it wants. At this point, the report maker may be petitioners: So many reports are you let do, hard work overtime to make, now say these statements actually have no use, that blame who ah.

Yes, no one can blame it. We do not want to blame who, see how to solve this problem?

The simple thing is to change the way decision-makers get reports by using BI technology:

First, through the Dashboard + Multidimensional Analysis + Drilling: Dashboard so that decision-makers see which KPI is the problem, in the end what is the cause of the problem, you can drill through to Multidimensional Analysis model, multi-angle analysis of the real source of the problem.

Two, the BI system can realize "pull" type and "push" type information provides the way, the decision maker active landing BI system can inquire at any time, or the system will send the key information by the way of the mail or the text message.

As you can see from here, Bi is a system, it is three-dimensional, and the report is just a way of showing.

Third, report software VS BI software

So, someone said: Then I through a software, can automatically generate decision-makers want to report, and then with a number of dashboards and charts, can not it? It doesn't necessarily need bi. Report software how good, simple setup, write a SQL can design the report, which like BI, to plan Data Warehouse, to ETL, but also to build models, much trouble ah.

We have summed up, the enterprise through it technology to achieve decision analysis requirements, will experience the following stage, the vast majority of enterprises have or are planning to achieve the report Automation or report graphics stage, that is, some report software and front-end display tools can be achieved stage: