As a business intelligence services provider, we encounter many companies who originally set out to manage their business intelligence system in-house, but later choose to hire a consultant to help optimize the platform—or to take over the business intelligence system altogether.
There are several reasons these companies come to us. Typically, they are having difficulty getting the business intelligence to perform the way they would like it to, have outgrown their current platform or capabilities, or no longer have the bandwidth or expertise in-house to manage the system.
4 Benefits to Outsourcing Business Intelligence Services
Whether you currently have a business intelligence system that you need help managing or do not yet have a business intelligence platform in place, choosing to outsource your business intelligence services can have many benefits.
1. Increased Expertise
One of the main reasons companies choose to outsource their business intelligence is to receive increased expertise. If you choose or hire an individual in a company to implement a business intelligence system, you are getting the knowledge and expertise only of that individual person. If you hire a business intelligence company, you are receiving the expertise of a team with decades—or more—of collective knowledge and expertise, certifications, and experience.
This leads to faster implementation, optimization, and even troubleshooting. A business intelligence services team has the collective knowledge of a full team of BI experts. This means it is usually much faster and more effective to execute action items or to resolve challenges than it would be if the company were relying on an individual.
2. Faster Implementation
Because of the full team of high-level experts as well as the fine-tuned systems and processes, an outsourced company can almost always implement—or optimize—a business intelligence system faster than an in-house team could manage. On top of having a higher level of collaborative expertise, a business intelligence services company will not have the additional roles and responsibilities that an IT team usually has that would occasionally (or not so occasionally) pull them away from the project.
3. Optimized Performance
While many IT experts or CDOs (Chief Data Officers) may have experience in business intelligence, a dedicated business intelligence company can only be successful if they make it their top priority to have the best knowledge and certifications available. They also have systems and processes in place to implement solutions, changes, or systems quickly, efficiently, and successfully.
4. Reduced Cost
Hiring a business intelligence company can also come at a reduced cost compared to hiring the same level of expertise in-house. An outsourced company will almost always be able to implement—or optimize—a business intelligence system in less time than it would take an in-house team. Since you are only paying for the service you need without the time or expense for recruitment, training, certification, equipment or office space, or even benefits and bonuses, the option to outsource almost always comes out on top.
This is especially true when it comes to managed services related to business intelligence. Unfortunately, a business intelligence system isn’t “set it and forget it.” It takes regular upkeep that can detract from the responsibilities of your in-house team. It also takes support, troubleshooting, alterations, and other needs that require a higher level of expertise. To prevent downtime, many companies are required to “staff for the peaks,” or to ensure enough man hours are available to handle it when a crisis strikes. However, outsourcing these services will reduce costs since managed services teams have the bandwidth to handle a large workload without the associated full-time team cost.
Final Thoughts
Outsourcing business intelligence services is an effective and efficient way to achieve high-quality results without the in-house cost. For more information about business intelligence services, click “Learn More” below.