UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND YOUR BOTTOM LINE

Introduction
The terms “Business Intelligence” and its acronym “BI” are so pervasive in today’s data-intensive lexicon that it’s a
challenge to know just what to make of it. If you add in all the new trendy terminology, such as business process
management (BPM), data mining, data warehousing, business process automation, decision support systems,
query and reporting systems, enterprise performance management, executive information systems (EIS), business
activity monitoring (BAM), modeling and visualization, and so forth, your head can start spinning.

Here is a workable definition of BI that was provided in a recent Technology Evaluation report from a January 10,
2005, Technology Evaluation Centers article by Mukhles Zaman entitled Business Intelligence: Its Ins and Outs. BI is
neither a product nor a system. It is an umbrella term that combines architectures, applications, and databases.
It enables the real-time, interactive access, analysis, and manipulation of information, which provides the
business community with easy access to business data. BI analyzes historical data through transactions or by
other kinds of business activities, and helps businesses by analyzing the past and present business situations and
performances. By giving this valuable insight, BI helps decision-makers make more informed decisions and it
supplies end-users with critical business information about their customers or partners, including information on
behaviors and trends.”

Given that virtually all small and midsized businesses (SMBs) can benefit from BI tools, the real question is how
much of this technology constitutes a good investment of time and energy? Most of the industrial-strength,
BI-related tools cater more to the larger enterprises whose business structures are highly complex and whose
budgets can accommodate the lofty implementation expenditures. While many of these vendors would like you to
think that their pricey, high-end solutions are absolutely necessary for the SMB sector as well, our research
indicates otherwise.

Based on the size of your company and budgetary constraints, your goal is to determine what BI tools you really
need to drill down and extract the key performance data that will make your company more efficient and
profitable.

For starters, we recommend that you leverage your existing technology and find cost-effective, easy-to-use BI
solutions that integrate with your Microsoft Office Suite. That should be quite sufficient for you to obtain the
intelligence you need to significantly boost your bottom line.
Given that virtually all
small and midsized Cutting Through BI Mythology and Hype
businesses (SMBs) can
To distill the BI discussion to its simplest terms, what businesses need most is the ability to find and extract key
benefit from BI tools, the information that identifies their strengths and weaknesses and helps them make better decisions. They also want
real question is how much this information to be presented in a timely fashion and in a way that business people can understand.
of this technology Given this modest objective, SMBs must filter out the hype emanating from many BI application vendors who
constitutes a good claim that they should invest in higher-priced, industrial-strength BI solutions. Below, we will attempt to dispel

investment of time and some of these myths and offer some guidance on how to make the right purchasing and implementation
decisions for your business.
energy?
MYTH #1 – YOU REALLY NEED A “CUBE-BASED” OLAP-BASED BI SOLUTION

Many vendors want you to believe that your SMB needs a full-fledged, cube-based OLAP (On-Line Analytical
Processing) BI solution that delivers real-time, up-to-the-nanosecond data in order to make the best possible
business decisions.

Sure, this makes sense if you’re a Fortune 1000 company with numerous divisions and databases and highly
complex reporting requirements. Oh, and you’ve got mega-bucks to spend on trying out different BI solutions that
will take a long time to implement and much more time to learn and use.
We know that a “cube-based” OLAP tool does enable end-users to slice and dice their data, perform multi-
dimensional analysis, present information in graphs and charts, and more. However, there is a high cost
associated with maintaining these cube-based systems. For example, every time a new dimension is added to a
multi-dimensional analysis, one has to make changes to all cubes that would use that dimension. Of course, one
needs access to very high-level programming skills to do that, not to mention the budget to support this approach.

INFORMATION SWEET SPOT

Cost of
Delivery
Value to Corporation

The Information
Reporting Tools Sweet Spot Cubes

Data Delivered
No Data 100% of Data

On the other side of the equation are reporting tools such as Crystal Reports®, Microsoft FRx, and Brio, which fall
into the category of transaction system reporting. If you want to know your current inventory levels or the balance
of a receivable account or even a comparison of these indicators over a specific period, these tools are great. But
if you’re looking for actionable intelligence that will add considerable value to the decision-making process, you
need more than simple reporting tools.

The best approach to BI for SMBs lies somewhere between these two approaches. The amount of data delivered
should be more than a simple reporting tool but less than a cube-based OLAP tool. The right tool must be able to SMB companies must filter
deliver multi-dimensional analysis, graphing, charting, and more, for a fraction of the cost of an expensive OLAP
out the hype emanating
solution. Moreover, the tool should be modifiable by a user without requiring extensive programming skills.
from many BI application
MYTH #2 – YOU REALLY NEED EXPENSIVE, INDUSTRIAL-STRENGTH ANALYTICS TO MAKE INFORMED
BUSINESS DECISIONS
vendors who claim that
they should invest in
Make no mistake—having access to an analytics tool can be a very powerful component of your BI plan.
Analytics enable end-users to transform data into information, and then get that data into the right hands, at the
higher-priced, industrial-
right time, and in the correct format to facilitate timely decision-making. This, in turn, can help companies strength BI solutions.
increase customer satisfaction, decrease costs, and increase revenues.

However, there is a misconception that SMBs must invest in industrial-strength analytics. For these companies, it’s
usually quite sufficient to perform data analysis covering predetermined periods of time; say weeks, months,
quarters, or years. Typically, you are examining trends or comparisons of results between periods, meaning that
you really don’t need to pay for overly expensive applications that deliver high-powered analytics. We contend
that the level of investment required for an expensive analytics solution is more the province of the larger
company than the SMB market.
 MYTH #3 – I HAVE TO TOSS OUT ALL MY SPREADSHEETS

With all the high-priced applications now available in the emerging BI marketplace, it’s easy to see why many
vendors would scoff at the idea that your basic Microsoft Office Suite is quite adequate as a key component of
your BI solution. They don’t want you to know that the most widely used BI tool today is an Excel spreadsheet.
Almost everyone in the corporate world uses Excel to track expenses, create budgets and forecasts, and create
reports from that data. Plus, Excel tools offer many useful features such as graphing, charting, and PivotTables,
which assist decision-making.

Since many of today’s more affordable BI solutions integrate seamlessly with Excel, there is absolutely no reason
to abandon this trusty tool that you have relied on for so long. As long as you can access the right data that can
help you measure your company’s operational performance, the spreadsheet is still the way to go. Of course, if
you are accessing data from disparate databases, the information of which is out of sync, then it won’t matter
what BI solution you use; you’re not going to get accurate results.

MYTH #4 – YOU REALLY NEED TO INVEST IN A BI SOLUTION THAT OFFERS AIRTIGHT COMPLIANCE WITH
SARBANES-OXLEY

The Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 (also known as the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002) was passed by U.S. lawmakers to reinforce honest and transparent corporate practices in the wake of
the various public accounting scandals and corporate failures of the 1990s. As with any far-reaching legislation of
this magnitude, there is plenty of hype that has emerged in connection with this law. Let’s clear up the picture as
it relates to BI software and compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley.

For starters, here are two facts to consider: 1) The Act applies only to U.S. public companies, and 2) there is no
software application certification provided under the Act. This means that no BI solution will ensure compliance
with this Act, and if your company is not publicly traded, you are probably not even going to have to worry about
it. However, due to all the press that has been generated around compliance issues and the fact that banks are
concerned with internal controls, there is a chance that you could still be impacted by the changes that have
resulted from this Act.

If you are concerned with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance or want to tighten your internal controls as a result of
renewed focus on this area, there are software tools that you can utilize in concert with proper management of
The best approach to BI for your internal processes for reporting, auditing, and disclosure. In general, well-thought-out applications can help
SMBs lies somewhere you in your compliance efforts by making information more accessible and more transparent, and by highlighting
between these two anomalies.

approaches. The amount A combination of accounting and BI-related reporting tools can serve as a vital part of your overall internal

of data delivered should be control compliance strategy. As you determine how to respond to the new challenges imposed by Sarbanes-Oxley,
there is little doubt that much of your attention will be focused on managing, protecting, and reporting on the
more than a simple
data that at some point passed through your accounting system.
reporting tool but less than
One BI tool that can serve this process admirably is an “Alerts” solution that integrates with your accounting
a cube-based OLAP tool.
system. Using Alerts and special triggers, your organization can automatically generate e-mails, launch reports, or
generate system warnings without the need for human intervention.

While no software application will make you compliant, the right mix of accounting and BI applications can work
in conjunction with your internal policies, compliance programs, and other technology investments to increase the
transparency of financial events, ensure distribution of critical information in a timely manner, and provide the
peace of mind you need on matters of security and access.
Guidelines for a High-Performance, Low-Cost BI Solution
Let’s take a closer look at what really matters to small and midsized businesses as far as investing in a BI
solution. We contend that most SMBs need nothing more than their MS Office Suite and a mix of affordable,
easy-to-use BI tools that can help them drill down to the key performance indicators that identify their strengths
and weaknesses in operational performance, marketing, and sales—the key components to optimizing efficiency
and profitability.

Equally important, the BI tools you implement must be easy-to-use and learn, and must be able to present data in
a way that everyone can understand. If you have access to BI tools that can convert all of your key performance
data into easy-to-understand terms that all levels of management can fully utilize, you have a tremendous
opportunity to boost bottom-line performance and overall profitability.

Conversely, if your proposed BI solution is hard to grasp, it likely won’t contribute much to your objective of
locating and analyzing key, actionable data that can help your business run smarter. Whatever solution you
choose, make sure that all of you can figure out how to get the most out of it without needing a PhD.

KEY COMPONENTS OF A COST-EFFECTIVE BI SOLUTION

As you contemplate a cost-effective BI solution for your company, you should make sure that the integrated
software delivers most, if not all, of the functions listed below at a price point that fits your company’s budget:

• Alerts – Alerts provide crucial monitoring, proactive notification, and automation capabilities that help your
company adapt to changing conditions and avoid alarming scenarios pertaining to payables, receivables,
budgets, sales, and inventory. With alerts functionality in place, you can preset a wide variety of benchmarks in
all of these areas and protect yourself from missing key time- or date-sensitive events or failing to respond to
deviations from acceptable levels.

• Inquiry – Having an easy-to-use inquiry tool enables you to drill down into a specific area and quickly extract
data that is essential to your business. For example, if you need to examine sales trends by region over the last
12 months, identify the top 5 customers for the quarter, or locate the top 10 best-selling items for the last
month, this type of BI tool will serve you well.

• Analysis tool – SMBs want the ability to bring in data from multiple locations and still be able to see a unified
If you have access to BI
macro view of the entire enterprise. Analysis software should help you achieve this goal, providing a quick
tools that can convert all
snapshot of your business and enabling you to drill down into sales and purchasing trends, as well as perform
budget analysis. Some of these solutions offer “scorecards” that provide a quick view of the overall health of of your key performance
your business. Make sure to insist on a multi-dimensional analysis tool that fully utilizes Excel’s capabilities, data into easy-to-
including Pivot Tables and charts. understand terms that all
• Dashboards – The term “dashboard” has become ubiquitous in the ever-expanding BI lexicon. An effective levels of management can
dashboard should provide an easy-to-understand, graphical snapshot of your business’s health. Some common fully utilize, you have a
categories of data (often from Excel) feeding the dashboard are revenues by period, product sales by category,
tremendous opportunity to
actual vs. budgeted financial indicators, and expenses by category, just to name a few. The good news is that
you can take full advantage of affordable BI solutions that offer this type of functionality. boost bottom-line
performance and overall
• Quick KPIs – Whether analyzing business performance vs. another company or between divisions within your
company, quick access to key performance indicators (KPIs) enables you to see how your business is measuring profitability.
up at any moment in time. This type of solution should possess the capability to compare financial models and
actual performance vs. budget and forecast numbers for different time periods. In addition, it should enable
you to quickly establish benchmarking of results vs. competitors over varying time periods. Finally, you should
be able to export any KPI report or model to Microsoft Excel or Word.
 • Graphical presentations of data – Viewing data in graphical format makes the process of analyzing
performance so much quicker and easier. Make sure that your BI solution incorporates customizable graphical
views of your data in grid, Pivot Table, and interactive chart formats. This should be a standard feature, not an
accessory.

• Flexible reporting capabilities – The ability to create and generate reports (including exception reports) that
accurately reflect your company’s key performance data is crucial as is the ability to customize these reports
and display them graphically, if needed. In addition, you should be able to export these reports to an Excel
worksheet or include Excel spreadsheet data in these reports.

• Remote access – Most decision-makers conduct a significant portion of their business while out of the office.
So, it is essential that they have remote access to a wide range of their company’s vital business data any time
they want over the Internet. Make sure your BI solution enables you to access your KPIs such as sales, product
and customer analyses, income and balance sheets, and inventory reports whenever you are out of the office.

• Report Automation – To stay ahead of the competition, most SMBs can’t afford to sit back and wait for their
IT or accounting departments to provide the information they need to make informed decisions. They must be
proactive in automating their entire reporting process—from the creation to generation to distribution of
reports across the entire enterprise. Armed with streamlined, high-volume reporting, these companies are
equipped to respond to ever-changing market conditions and make the best possible decisions that impact the
health of their business.

How Sage Software Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

Sage Software understands that competitive advantage is derived from knowledge. Faster access to better
information results in smarter decisions. Sage Software offers several options for generating and delivering this
business-critical information from Sage MAS 90, Sage MAS 200 and Sage MAS 500 ERP end-to-end business
management applications (accounting, CRM, warehouse management, human resource management, and more)
to the decision-makers. These reporting solutions address different business needs (financial vs. end-to-end
reporting, transaction listing vs. drill down, and more); different interaction needs (desktop vs. Web-based, on-
demand vs. scheduled pushed reporting, and more); and fit different budgeting needs.
Analysis software usually
SAGE MAS 90, 200, AND 500 SOLUTIONS
can provide a quick
Business Insights Dashboard (Sage MAS 90 and 200) – Business Insights Dashboard, which comes standard
snapshot of your business,
with any new Sage MAS 90 or 200 system, is the ideal solution for busy managers, executives, and business
enabling you to drill down owners who need quick access to key business information in an easy-to-read format. The application is designed
into sales and purchasing to present easily accessible information in a high-level, graphical layout, and is customizable; enabling you to pick
trends, as well as perform what information is the most important to your operation. With a multitude of insightful reports, extensive drill-
budget analysis. down capabilities, and an automatic data-refreshing feature, Business Insights Dashboard makes staying informed
easy.

eExecutive (Sage MAS 500) – Sage MAS 500 eExecutive is a Web-based module that comes standard and offers
busy executives a customizable, real-time overview of vital business operations. Using the data available in Sage
MAS 500, your firm’s senior staff can make better business-critical decisions, even in rocky times, with up-to-the-
minute information. This snapshot display can incorporate other applications into eExecutive, like e-mail, calendar,
and data from other Web sites.

Business Alerts (Sage MAS 90 and 200) / Alerts (Sage MAS 500) – Business Alerts and Alerts are impressive
add-on modules that send e-mail notifications to you and your specified personnel when a significant data event
occurs. Solving problems before they become issues can satisfy your customers far more consistently. Integrated
into critical modules, Business Alerts and Alerts shift your focus, using early warning signals that announce critical
events in your Sage MAS 90, 200, or 500 system, including credit holds, inventory thresholds, priority client
transactions, urgency levels, and more.
Microsoft FRx Desktop (Sage MAS 90, 200, and 500) – FRx Desktop comes bundled with the Sage MAS 90,
200, and 500 General Ledger modules, and is a full-featured, financial reporting tool. The ability to specify row
and column formats independently maximizes the flexibility of report formats. After creating a report, you can
print it, export it to an Excel worksheet, drill down to examine details, or distribute it by e-mail. Combine the
report formats with a custom-reporting tree that matches your company's chart of accounts structure, and you
can create customized reports that detail almost any aspect of your business. FRx Desktop also provides
multi-company consolidation and robust security.

F9 (Sage MAS 90 and 200) – This optional module delivers data from your Sage MAS 90 or 200 General Ledger
module to Microsoft Excel. The data access is easy due to an automatic link to your General Ledger using the
hotlink feature in your spreadsheet, or hotlink cells in your spreadsheet that tie into any data item in General
Ledger. This linkage provides instant, real-time financial information in your spreadsheet and saves time by
eliminating the rekeying of data.

Business Insights Reporter (Sage MAS 90 and 200) – The ability to create custom reports is an important
component of any business management system, but not everyone has the time to learn the intricacies of data
structures or the complexities of creating formulas. The Sage MAS 90 and 200 systems offer Business Insights
Reporter, a powerful yet easy-to-use tool for creating custom reports.

Business Insights Analyzer (Sage MAS 500) – Sage MAS 500 Business Insights Analyzer can help you make
better business decisions by providing you with insights into your business data. Now you can act quickly,
decisively, and confidently to maintain your competitive edge. Business Insights Analyzer is an intuitive, easy-to-
use analytics tool included with Sage MAS 500. Information is provided in many formats with powerful filtering,
grouping, and sorting capabilities that let you organize the data in the way most appropriate to the task at hand.

Business Insights Explorer (Sage MAS 500) – Business Insights Explorer takes inquiry, drill down, drill around,
and analysis to a whole new level. The module’s Preview option enables you to view key information and related
transaction headers about a specific entity such as customer or vendor. Using the Drill Into option, you can drill
around data related to the original records, and change the primary view and context of the module to a new set
of views. You can also organize, graph, and format summarized information within the Sage MAS 500 system.

Sage MAS 500 Office (Sage MAS 500) – Sage MAS 500 Office helps you use the power of automation to build
stronger, more lasting customer relationships through enhanced communications. With Sage MAS 500 Office, you Combine report formats
can use predefined, customizable Microsoft Office templates to help you automatically (or manually) generate with a custom-reporting
business communications that incorporate application data. You can also attach documents and scanned images
tree that matches your
to any transaction or contact within the system.
company’s chart of
Web Reports (Sage MAS 500) – Web Reports provides browser-based access to many of the reports found in the
accounts structure, and
Sage MAS 500 operational modules. Reports can be generated and viewed through Microsoft Internet Explorer at
the same high level of security as with any module's standard output. you can create customized
reports that detail almost
About Sage Software any aspect of your
Sage Software offers leading business management software and services that support the needs, challenges and business.
dreams of more than 2.5 million small and midsized business customers in North America. Its parent company,
The Sage Group plc (London: SGE.L), supports 4.7 million customers worldwide. For more than 25 years, Sage
Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software for accounting, customer relationship
management, human resources, time tracking and the specialized needs of accounting practices and the
construction, distribution, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. For more information, please visit
the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/mas90 and www.sagesoftware.com/mas500 or call 866-308-2378.
 56 Technology Drive
Irvine, CA 92618-2301
800-854-3415
www.sagesoftware.com

The information contained in this document represents the current view of Sage Software, on the issues discussed as of the date this document was prepared.
Sage Software cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. Contact Sage Software for the most current
information. This document is for informational purposes only and may not be distributed to third parties. SAGE SOFTWARE MAKES NO WARRANTIES,
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.

©2006 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. The Sage Software logo and the Sage Software product and service names mentioned herein are the registered
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