What are some ways to empower BI business users to be self-sufficient?

I don't debate the nature of BI-Ready, nor any other tool out there that claims to help with Self-Service BI.

I DO debate what "self-service BI" means... I DO think that before Self-Service BI can actually be implemented "properly", the following elements MUST be in place:

* Business Glossary (tied to technical glossary), then managed, applied, governed, and available via self-service BI front end (this also means that a business ontology has been developed and applied - which is rare)
* Technical Glossary of terms, tied and defined with the business glossary, governed, managed, applied, and defined. As well as tied to the technical Data Models
* Cross-references (full Data Lineage), available to the BI front-end (versioned) for investigation against all the processing, as well as the sources and targets
* Master Data Set (not necessarily an MDM solution, but a Master Data Set - current, accurate, clean and well defined).
* Data Warehouse, with history, as well as real-time feeds, raw data and so on.
* The ability to "create and destroy" virtual data marts FROM within the BI application - this is something that isn't "on the desktop" today, and needs to be in order for the executives and business users to be able to "create self-service BI cubes, marts, etc..."
* Distribution Channels - once the self-service BI cube / mart has been built, there needs to be governance, as well as distribution channels with which to disperse the new BI "application" if you will.
* Virtualization capabilities - whether or not it's cloud won't matter.
* Real-Time inflow to the EDW, along with Federated Source System Access... I think all these components are also necessary
* Ability to "add desktop sources" to MIX with the data from the warehouse, external data sets, and source systems... (hence federation).

No - I disagree with you Gertjan, I do not believe there are any tools out there today that manage to provide accurate self-service BI. I think (as I stated) that it is more than just tools, it is data, people, process, and governance that will make self-service BI possible. I think tools like BI-Ready (your tool) are helpful along the way, but I do not think that in and of themselves they are "self-service BI".

Thank-you kindly,
Dan Linstedt

I would add to this, that there must be a great, well-rounded, enterprise Data Warehouse available in the back-end to provide proper information to the self-service BI front-ends. The proper solution will augment "right-now federation" with "deep historical analytic capabilities", and combine these functions with "ease-of-use" to dig the data out and create virtual cubes, or virtual marts. I would say, that once virtual marts are in place - then it becomes easy to push to Cloud BI, or any other "possible self-service BI".

I'd argue that getting there is a journey, a project in itself - that it's not a plug & play solution that can be accomplished today (not from a well-rounded perspective anyhow).

@Dan: With nice Data Warehouse Automation tools (like ours) business users are capable of creating their own Data Warehouse (yes indeed, as a Data Vault) and (physical and/or virtual) Data Marts! (They may ned some support with mapping to sources. Obviously they can click their own reports from there as well.
May be we should claim the term "Self-service Data Warehousing".

One way to reach BI user self sufficiency is through the implementation of a new Business Intelligence generation, I see as BI 3.0. This movement is, without a doubt, an example of a disruptive technology in the 21st century.

A handful of companies are leading this fast growing segment described as Self Serve BI, Data Discovery or Interactive Visual Analytics. Gartner Research points out that these applications are being purchased by business users, with or without IT consent.

A great feature of this class is its data blending functionality. This means that the applications allow connecting simultaneously to disparate types of data bases or tables, whether in a data warehouse, Excel, Access files or even websites.

I should point out that it’s not a good idea to promote these new applications as “IT Free” because unless you are in a miniscule enterprise with only one analyst, you will need data governance to ensure a single version of the truth.

The results are instant since this process takes place in-memory, so there is no need to develop data marts or build cubes ahead of time like in the past. Additionally the visual interface, when used proficiently, permits to digest huge amounts of information and visualize trends and patterns in seconds.

I’ve found close to 10 applications that fall into this category from companies around the globe. The leading ones are growing their acceptance at a very fast rate. Four of them have made it to Gartner Research's 2011 Business Intelligence Magic Quadrant Report and I think they’re going to stay there for the foreseeable future.

In the short term the Visual Analytics packages will not replace traditional BI or Data Warehouses in large organizations but will be a complementary necessity to provide a competitive advantage to the different business units.

However, there are examples of fortune 500 companies where after realizing the benefits of this new class of self serve software, IT started to deploy it in more areas, slowly replacing existing 20th century technology.

For small and medium size companies that haven’t yet invested in BI, Self Serve Visual Data Discovery can be a very fast and effective solution.

Regards, Bill

I find it interesting that the answers here tend to lead business users to believe that they no longer "need" data warehousing to achieve self-service BI... I find this hard to swallow, especially in light of the fact that this statement was made:

"The results are instant since this process takes place in-memory, so there is no need to develop data marts or build cubes ahead of time like in the past. Additionally the visual interface, when used proficiently, permits to digest huge amounts of information and visualize trends and patterns in seconds."

This statement by itself basically says that the business users don't need and no longer care for trend analysis, or historical data integrated with today's outlooks.

I think what we have here is muddy-water, in terms of "defining exactly what BI is..." What is BI? may be another question to truly ask, especially since people are now throwing around terms like "BI 3.0"... What exactly does this mean?

I agree with other statements like: "For small and medium size companies that haven’t yet invested in BI, Self Serve Visual Data Discovery can be a very fast and effective solution" - this one I can get squarely behind, and in fact - I like the term "self-serve visual data discovery", but I believe that without historical integrated data sets, "self-service BI" is a pipe-dream or a vendors sales' pitch. More to the point, without historical integrated data, combined with today's data sets (a data warehouse), it should be called: "Self serve Visual Data Discovery".

Let's try to answer and agree on exactly what the term "BI" means before we begin trying to define "BI-3.0" and "self-service-BI"...

@Bill, you have some great ideas, that got me thinking. Thanks! :)

Just my two cents, Thanks, Dan L

I do agree that self service BI without IT is not a good idea.
I do also agree that BI is about data, governance, people and processes and technology.
Of course, some "tools" are more helpful in this perspective than others. And while Self Service BI is mainly focussed on the visualization, I added helpful software for the "getting data available" part.
Since BI is ruled by IT for years, I like the odea for empowerment of business, and make IT facitating (as it should be anyway).
Just because of all the technical complexity, IT was too much in the driver seat, and Self Service BI is turning that around.

@Jonathan Wu, great points on simplicity and accuracy being key to self-sufficiency. One additional element that one may want to consider is more front-end collaboration between business users and your BI team. Beginning up front with a prioritization of business-driven BI opportunities during the requirements phase (i.e. what company/department goals and strategies can best be met by a well designed BI application), and designing systems that meet those needs will make it easier for business users to be more self sufficient.

A good way to become self-sufficient is to choose an easy-to-use Cloud BI solution. Business users can get started with no input from the IT team and can perform all analyses themselves, straight from their web browser. The more intuitive the application, the better. As well as being low cost, users can produce their own queries and have the freedom to share them as and how the wish.