Business Intelligence Buyers Guide (Part 1)

Before we started selling business intelligence (BI) software as 5000fish, we were BI buyers. Our experiences with BI (the good and the bad) heavily influenced the type of software we wanted to create. We understood the pain points of BI customers and really saw why BI has such poor adoption rates.

We identified two major drivers for BI’s poor adoption rate: Over-promising software vendors and under-educated buyers. But before someone accuses us of BI industry bashing, let us explain:

BI software vendors are not slimy, dishonest salespeople. However, sometimes software vendors over-promise on what their software can truly accomplish. And BI buyers aren’t gullible fools, but sometimes they buy software they don’t need. This is often because the buyer doesn’t know the right questions to ask and isn’t employing a successful process to help them identify the type of BI solution they need.

A Right Vs. Wrong BI Buying Process

When it comes to purchasing BI software, there is a “right” and “wrong” buying process. A “wrong” buying process most often follows the path of sending out an RFP or creating an internal checklist that includes “Yes/No” software feature checkboxes.

The “right” buying process focuses on the audiences and use cases for the BI solution, instead of features. This type of process requires additional work for both the business and the BI vendor, but it’s worth it. At the end of this buying process, BI buyers will know whether a BI vendor’s solution is able to meet their business’ needs.
This eBook is a step-by-step guide to help you through the process, including:

• Determining Your Use Cases
• Determining Your User Personas
• Determining Your Usage Profile
• Determining Your Data Profile
• Determining Your Budget
• Buying Your BI Software

Let’s get started!