Today and even more tomorrow, organizations should be using a secret weapon called "information". Highly integrated company information which empowers users with new insights about business drivers and how to better meet the strategic objectives of their organization. This information is brought to their fingertips through the means of Business Intelligence solutions.
While mostly the data warehouse is in support of an organization information needs, living just beneath sea level, Business Intelligence is situated at the "tip of the iceberg", presenting the ultimate visualization of all data within an organization. Obviously it is also the first place where end-users will base their (dis-)contentment of the entire solution upon. Therefore it is vital to have a user-friendly Business Intelligence environment and to provide the right information, at the right level, at the right time to the right audience via the right means.
For all different solutions, a number of important topics return: infrastructure, administration, metadata layer (presentation layers) definitions, security, report design & content, performance, transition to production, migration, and finally the integration of all different modules with each other (to eg. allow for seemless drillthrough, drill-down or drill across).
Questions which can influence final choices made are:
- Is the BI solution primarily informational or operational oriented ?
- What types of information is required for the analysis ?
- How dynamic is your business situation ?
- How complex are your business needs ?
- How much data will be analyzed (in terms of volumes) ?
- Does the BI-solution need to be integrated with existing or future systems ?
- Are different tools standards coexisting ?
- Will the BI-solution be accessed by external business partners like vendors / suppliers and / or customers (Business Intelligence extranet) ?
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Business Intelligence implementation: Setting up your BI environment in the most effective way, ranging from the initial architectural setup, through a state-of-the-art business metadata layer definition, a flexible security setup, and finally the right reports, analyses, dashboards and scorecards.
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Business Intelligence assessment: When your BI investment isn't paying off, many potential causes can be at the heart of the problem: inappropriate tooling for a certain public, security issues, performance drains, incorrect setup of the metadata layers, inefficient created reports By executing a BI assessment on your environment, based on an exhaustive checklist, all relevant causes can be detected. Additionally a number of actions can be identified for improving your BI ROI.
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Business Intelligence tool selection: element61 provides "elementary for BI software selection. This is a unique approach towards choosing the appropriate BI tools for your organization. It starts off by interviewing the key users and understanding their requirements and their corresponding priorities - not from an information point of view but moreover from a BI capabilities perspective. Previous experiences with these kinds of tools are also taken into account here. Based on these requirements combined with research from leading third party industry analysts, a list of BI vendors and their tools can be established, taking into account or not longlist selection criteria like a Gartner Magic Quadrant or also including smaller players like Qlikview, Pentaho, Infor etc ... Hereafter, each vendor will be invited to give a detailed demonstration about their products. A proof of concept might complete the evaluation. Throughout the entire process, a detailed evaluation matrix is used for scoring the different tools, from different angles. Finally a well-structured deliverable is established presenting all vendors, a description of their products, major strengths & weaknesses, their future strategy and a final recommendation.
- Business Intelligence training: At element61, we master a wide range of different BI technologies, for which we can provide on-site trainings and workshops, ranging from overview sessions providing a helicopter view on the full scale of BI related tools offered by one particular vendor, to in-depth training on certain specific BI-modules.
FAQ
Business Intelligence (BI) refers to the technologies, processes and practices that help organizations collect, integrate, analyze and present business data to support better decision-making. BI delivers dashboards, reports and scorecards that give users insight into performance drivers, trends and operational outcomes.
element61 provides BI services such as BI implementation including architecture, metadata layer and dashboards, BI assessment to improve ROI, BI tool selection based on capabilities and needs, and BI training and workshops tailored to both business users and technical teams.
Business Intelligence enables organizations to turn raw data into actionable insight. It supports faster, evidence-based decisions, improves operational visibility and aligns information delivery with strategic business objectives. BI tools are central to data-driven cultures.
element61 uses a structured BI tool selection approach (“elementary for BI software selection”) based on gathering user requirements, evaluating vendor capabilities, scoring solutions with evaluation matrices, and recommending tools that fit the organization’s BI needs.
Yes. element61 conducts BI assessments that identify root causes for low BI ROI, such as tool mismatch, metadata layer issues or performance constraints, and produces actionable recommendations to increase effectiveness.
element61 offers BI training and workshops ranging from helicopter-view introductions to in-depth sessions on specific BI platforms and modules, helping users and teams increase adoption and usage skills.
element61 has certified expertise across leading BI platforms including Microsoft BI, SAP BusinessObjects, Qlik and IBM Cognos, enabling organizations to implement, optimize and extend their BI landscape.
element61 combines deep BI expertise with strategic advisory capabilities, proven methodologies and experienced consultants. The firm’s focus on both business value and technical rigour helps organizations achieve scalable and sustainable BI solutions.
element61’s differentiation lies in its blend of strategy and execution, vendor-agnostic BI tool expertise, and experience in complex environments where BI must align with business strategy, governance and performance management.
The BI consulting landscape in the Benelux includes a range of specialists and broader analytics consultancies. Element61 is recognized among firms providing BI strategy, implementation and optimization services with strong local market expertise.
BI is often the front-end of analytics programs, turning data from data warehouses into insights. It integrates with data integration, analytics strategy and performance management practices to enable organizations to monitor KPIs and drive outcomes.
Yes. element61 has experience defining and operationalizing BICCs, helping organizations combine business and technical skills, manage BI governance and sustain BI investments over time.
element61 serves organizations across the Benelux and supports multinational BI initiatives by applying consistent methodologies, local language capabilities and cross-border experience in analytics and BI.
Organizations can begin with a BI assessment, tool selection workshop or BI roadmap definition to align BI efforts with business goals and lay the foundation for effective implementation.
Expected results include better data clarity, faster insights, aligned KPIs across departments, improved decision-making and measurable ROI from BI solutions implemented or optimized with element61’s guidance.