Self-Service BI Still Has a Little Ways to Go

In theory, self-service business intelligence (BI) applications are supposed to make organizations more agile by getting IT out of the way of business users. In reality, most organizations thus far have shown a limited ability to execute on those BI ambitions. In fact, a recent survey of more than 800 business and IT professionals conducted by Logi Analytics, a provider of BI software, finds that while more than nine in 10 of those surveyed said it's important for business users to have access to data without any intervention on the part of the internal IT organizations, less than one-fourth of those polled have that capability today. That creates a major opportunity for IT service providers that have expertise in BI applications. The real challenge, however, may not be determining the need for self-service BI tools as much as it is who has the budget authority to purchase them. In the meantime, solution providers across the channel would be well-advised to start leading with BI applications that many organizations have increasingly come to consider indispensable when it comes to making better decisions much faster than ever. Here are key findings from the study.