Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Self-service BI: is it good or not?

Options
  • 07-02-2018 10:27am
    #1
    kenjicpl
    Registered Users Posts: 25 ✭


    I'm wondering about self-service BI . I found out that many IT people are complaining about it but it seems to be still in used. So, what do you guys think about self-service BI?


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    14ned
    Registered Users Posts: 768 ✭✭✭14ned


    kenjicpl wrote: »
    I'm wondering about self-service BI . I found out that many IT people are complaining about it but it seems to be still in used. So, what do you guys think about self-service BI?

    In my view anyone who makes a decision from an Excel spreadsheet they threw together is doing "self service BI". That approach goes back at least as far as the Roman Empire, and probably as far as the Sumerians. I really therefore don't get the current fashionable distinction: some data comes from ERP, some comes from elsewhere. What's the difference in the end?

    Niall


  • Options
    #3
    kenjicpl
    Registered Users Posts: 25 ✭kenjicpl


    Pardon my cluelessness because I am an amateur in this area. So, would you say self-service BI is not really different from Excel? Moreover, I found an article that says self-service BI is just a hoax. What do you think about that?


  • Options
    #4
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,649 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    Its just another tool. Sometimes its suitable. Some times it isn't. Depends on the knowledge level of the user.

    Is it a new buzz word for something that's always been there. Certainly. Are people trying to commercialize a old idea. Certainly.

    if you want to talk about topics that you don't know anything about, you should maybe provide the links to the articles you are reading.


  • Options
    #5
    kenjicpl
    Registered Users Posts: 25 ✭kenjicpl


    Have read this one. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/self-service-bi-hoax-rod-avissar The self-service BI hoax.


  • Options
    #6
    Talisman
    Registered Users Posts: 6,150 ✭✭✭Talisman


    BI as a concept has been around as long as business has existed.

    Self-Service BI works provided the individuals know what they're doing, i.e. what they are measuring and interpreting the results correctly, and are not gaming the system. If they don't know what they are doing then they may not be looking at the correct data so the results are questionable. If they are gaming to lead to favourable conclusions then it's a BS process, e.g. Two departments using different metrics to tell their stories is not uncommon. In that situation the numbers can't be trusted because the people involved have come up with a method to satisfy their own goals.

    Other concerns would be scalability and data security.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    kenjicpl
    Registered Users Posts: 25 ✭kenjicpl


    Thanks @talisman It's becoming clearer for me now. What would you say about power BI then?


  • Options
    #8
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,649 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    kenjicpl wrote: »
    ...I found an article that says self-service BI is just a hoax. ...

    That isn't what it says. It says "the way it is often marketed and sold is a hoax." I think you need to analyse what you are reading more carefully.
    Self-service BI tools are incredibly good. ....But the industry might need to become more mature, to realise these are tools, and as such they have their correct usage

    You seem to jumping from one tech question to another. Why are you doing this. I'm not sure you are really understanding the replies.


Advertisement