Companies are increasingly becoming aware of the need to exploit Business Intelligence (BI) at both strategic and operational levels - the goal being to make BI available to a wider group of stakeholders within the organisation and reap maximum benefit from the information assets held within the company.

A BI Audit helps clarify, in broad terms, where your organisation currently is in relation to BI, where you want to be and how to get there.  It can also be used to address a specific BI problem or issue that is facing your organisation.

You may need a review of your overall BI capability or a specific aspect of your implementation.  Reasons include:

• You question if you are getting the most from your BI investment
• The business has changed since your BI solution was implemented
• Your current solution is not giving you the right information at the right time
• Poor data quality is undermining business confidence in the BI output
• You want to make your BI solution available to a broader audience and understand what changes you need to make.
  

The Audit is focused on your needs.  It is a time-boxed piece of work that usually lasts around 10-15 days and delivers real value.  The audit covers:

• A review with the business user community, to understand current needs in terms of KPIs and related Business Processes, and any important gaps in BI coverage
• An architecture & infrastructure review, to assess fitness for purpose of the existing BI implementation and tools
• Analysis of benefits (high level) to be secured through improved information flows to organisational management
• A review of information usage to identify any training or usability issues, and user satisfaction
• A review of underpinning operational applications to assess how well these support the organisation's BI.
  

The BI audit, performed by Sopra Group's BI experts can contribute to the overall effectiveness of your organisation by:

• Maximising your existing investment, by identifying how current BI applications can be improved or integrated
• Improving process, performance and data quality - which will have a positive impact on the direct user base
• Assisting with continued buy-in from stakeholders, sponsors and users through the outputs produced
• Identifying a route map for securing both tactical and strategic benefits
• Recommendations and costs for implementation will be presented through a written report and can include a workshop to present them to key stakeholders.