The technology to manage and leverage data is changing so rapidly that traditional categories like business intelligence are evolving to accommodate more dynamic and complete software products. One such category that has emerged is self-service business intelligence.
With self-service bi, business users are able to filter, segment, and analyze their data like never before, without the in-depth technical knowledge that most analytical systems have required in the past. But as technology changes and user needs evolve, it begs the question–what exactly is Self-Service BI in 2017?
Domo’s Eric Buckley interviewed Wayne Eckerson to answer just that. Read below to hear Wayne’s answers to some fundamental questions regarding self-service analytics & BI in today’s market.
Wayne Eckerson is Principal Consultant at the Eckerson Group, and has been a thought leader in the self-service business intelligence and analytics space for the past 15 years. Wayne specializes in coaching businesses to leverage data and technology for better insights and results.
From Wayne’s perspective, “one size does not fit all in terms of self-service, which means that when you start to implement a self-service analytics environment, you first and foremost have to know your users.” Wayne often starts his consulting engagements at this point, asking, “who are your users? Both on your team, and out in the business units doing BI of any sort, in terms of creating as well as consuming?”
Wayne continues to explain that “a manager might see it as the ability to roll down on, pivot, or sort data in a chart. A developer might see it as the ability to build their own analytics system from the ground-up. It’s imperative for your technologies and processes to have the flexibility to suit each unique need on your user spectrum, and the supporting strategy to deliver that flexibility to every single user.”
According to Wayne, to really do self-service right, you have to understand your users and create a framework for their needs. Then you have to take an inventory of everyone in your organization that needs access to the self-service tools and and find out where they belong within that framework.
