The successful development of a business depends on the proper development of strategies. The more information you possess about the possibilities of your company and the market occurrences in general, the better the strategy. Therefore, every business needs to invest in collecting information.
So, for a business to flourish, it’s necessary to measure progress and performance on both a larger and a smaller scale – from the general level of functioning to the productivity of an employee. There are two types of gathered data – business intelligence and automated reporting. Both of them offer different benefits; in order to find out which one is more suitable for your business, you need to learn about their differences.
Automated Reporting
This type of reporting is a process that happens on its own, without the need to start it or be involved in it – it’s automated. So, your information will arrive to you in the form of a report and it usually comes in equal time intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, etc.).
Of course, these time intervals can be disturbed – if there’s a new factor or an event that’s not regular within your company, you’ll receive a different report. For example, if you’re expecting a big shipment, you will also be informed about its movement and progress.
The obvious benefit of automated reporting is that it doesn’t require your time and effort. Considering the fact that the arrival of reports is previously determined, your team and you can dedicate your work hours to more creative tasks.
Business Intelligence
Collecting business intelligence is an extensive process. It consists of creating a timeline that consists of a line of activities. For starters, it will be necessary that you develop a strategy with clear objectives. Gathering data in this manner will require you to ask questions about how things are done, why that is and, eventually, find out if there’s a way to improve the overall productivity.
Obviously, this is a more thorough way of getting to a report. With automated reporting, your business will just receive information, but with business intelligence, you will have to discover them for yourself and thus collect more details. Forming your business intelligence will take time and require a lot of effort, which is why it is clever to outsource this to professionals.
Which One Is Better?
This answer depends on the needs of your business. If your company needs to go through an expansion, it will be smarter for you to go with business intelligence. Doing this will enable you to collect important details about your market and the functioning of your company and thus you’ll be able to develop a better strategy for the development of your business.
On the other hand, if you’re in need of reassurance that your office is functioning properly and that everything is going according to the previously developed strategies, automated reporting will do the trick for you.
However, it is vital for the future of your business to collect this kind of data because it will enable you to set realistic goals for your business and direct them properly. Reports and intelligence will both provide you with the means to achieve success.
