{"id":1986,"date":"2017-06-19T07:31:13","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T11:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=1986"},"modified":"2026-02-16T05:28:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T10:28:01","slug":"understanding-the-why-of-business-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/understanding-the-why-of-business-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the why of business intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/category\/strategy-legal-operations\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Strategy, Legal &amp; Operations<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tUnderstanding the why of business intelligence\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2017-06-19T07:31:13-04:00\">June 19, 2017<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Understanding the why of business intelligence\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/understanding-the-why-of-business-intelligence\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/author\/mathewlove\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/05\/Matthew.png\" class=\"entry-author__image\" height=\"40\" width=\"40\" fetchpriority=\"high\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Mathew Love<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>More and more companies are calling for the necessity of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/products\/intelligence-reporting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">business intelligence<\/a> (BI) and reporting. It\u2019s becoming the \u2018it\u2019 word in the business world. However, there seems to be a gap in understanding why we need BI. What\u2019s the point of having BI? What\u2019s the big \u2018so what?\u2019 of BI?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-it-s-not-as-complicated-as-it-sounds\"><strong>It\u2019s not as complicated as it sounds<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Often, implementing the required BI solutions found in your accounting or ERP system is perceived to be complex and hard to customize. &nbsp;Some think that massive costs and IT resources are required to gather the information. Then, once information has been gathered, they think that time needs to be spent arranging the data in an understandable format to be utilized, as IT didn\u2019t understand the needs of the business completely when they first gathered the information. However, this should never be the case. There are many BI solutions that can give you greater insight into your business with very little effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-gain-control-of-your-company\"><strong>Gain control of your company<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If improving your business is one of your goals you must have readily available access to data and information. Having this fast and accurate information at your fingertips allows for more informed&nbsp;business decisions. &nbsp;Giving your employees the ability to easily and quickly gather information will result in a knock-on effect that will strengthen the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many businesses are focusing on being more mobile. Mobile devices and applications have grown exponentially over the past decade\u2014allowing business to be conducted from anywhere and at any time.&nbsp; Thus, BI reporting plays an even more integral part of our daily lives.&nbsp;Employees won\u2019t need to work in isolation anymore, as information can be shared easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-here-are-just-a-few-key-advantages-of-running-a-business-with-the-help-of-bi\"><strong>Here are just a few key advantages of running a business with the help of BI:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Employees will have easy access to valuable business reports allowing information and data to become the driving force of decision making.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improved sharing of inter-departmental knowledge.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Financial viability of the company is improved, as it is easier to manage cost ownership.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There\u2019s a greater understanding of the value of the business and the capabilities thereof, and thus what can be improved or expanded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The only constant is change and your company\u2019s ability to understand, accept, and apply strategies to manage this change will determine your success.&nbsp; BI will provide you with the tools required to do this through obtaining greater visibility into what goes on in your business.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to our Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get our latest business advice delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-ab515c6e-7e90-4c2f-a67e-113872516e8b\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Working from home with tea in hand\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More and more companies are calling for the necessity of business intelligence (BI) and reporting. It\u2019s becoming the \u2018it\u2019 word in the business world. However, there seems to be a gap in understanding why we need BI. What\u2019s the point of having BI? What\u2019s the big \u2018so what?\u2019 of BI? It\u2019s not as complicated as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":245,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[4,170],"business_type":[41],"lilypad":[],"context":[102],"industry":[204],"persona":[101,98,97],"imagine_tag":[234,233],"coauthors":[661],"class_list":["post-1986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-strategy-legal-operations","tag-business-intelligence","tag-business-strategy","business_type-growing-business","industry-technology"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Mathew Love","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/03\/b0195c1c7b548c1f4d588685bc53255b_clientImage_1698x1131_xlarge_original_1.jpg","imagine_tags":{"234":"Enterprise Management","233":"Medium Businesses"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice US","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}