Why companies are replacing their spreadsheets with BI

In today’s business landscape, data is king. The companies that can make decisions based on data rather than gut feelings or anecdotal evidence are usually the ones that come out on top. And it makes sense—after all, data doesn’t lie.

This is why an increasing number of companies are moving away from spreadsheets as their primary reporting tool and towards more robust business intelligence (BI) reporting tools. BI reporting tools are designed to help organizations make better sense of their data so that they can make more informed decisions.

While spreadsheets have their limitations, companies have depended on the software for years to track everything from sales figures to customer data.

However, spreadsheets were never designed to be a reporting tool. It’s great for simple data entry and basic analysis, but it quickly becomes cumbersome when you’re dealing with large amounts of data.

This is where BI reporting tools come in. These tools are designed specifically for analyzing and visualizing data. They make it easy to slice and dice data in different ways, spot trends, and identify areas for improvement.

There are a number of reasons why companies are making the switch from spreadsheets to BI reporting tools. In this article, we will dive deeper into the features that BI tools offer and how they can benefit your organization.

What is BI?

Before we get into why companies are making the switch from spreadsheets to BI reporting tools, it’s important to understand what BI is and how it can help your business.

BI stands for business intelligence. It’s a process that’s used to collect data from various sources, analyze that data, and then provide actionable insights that can be used to make better business decisions.

In the past, businesses would use spreadsheets as their primary BI tool. However, spreadsheets have their limitations. For one thing, it’s not designed for large-scale data analysis. It also doesn’t have built-in features that make it easy to visualize data or create reports.

That’s where BI reporting tools come in. These tools are specifically designed for data analysis and reporting, which makes them a much better option than spreadsheets for companies that want to make data-driven decisions.

BI can be used to track and act on data such as social media sentiment, website analytics, sales data, customer data, and more. By having the ability to better understand this data, businesses can make more informed decisions that lead to better results.

Spreadsheets vs. BI: the benefits and limitations

Now that we’ve covered what BI is and how it can help your business, let’s take a closer look at spreadsheets and BI reporting tools to see how they compare.

Spreadsheets: The pros

Spreadsheets have been the go-to tool for businesses for years, and there are some good reasons for that. Spreadsheets are a familiar tool that is easy to use, which makes them a good choice for businesses that don’t have the resources to invest in training employees on how to use a new BI tool.

Spreadsheets are also relatively affordable and can be purchased as part of many suites of business tools. For companies that are on a tight budget, spreadsheets may be the best option.

Spreadsheets: The cons

Despite their popularity, spreadsheets have some major limitations that make them less than ideal for data-driven businesses.

As we mentioned earlier, spreadsheets were not designed for large-scale data analysis. It can be used for basic data entry and analysis, but it quickly becomes cumbersome when you’re dealing with a lot of data. This can make it difficult to spot trends or identify areas for improvement.

Another downside of spreadsheets is that they’re not very user-friendly when it comes to creating reports. It can be time-consuming to format data in a way that is easy to understand, and it’s also easy to make errors that can skew your results.

Additionally, spreadsheets don’t have a wide selection of built-in features for visualizing data. This can make it difficult to spot patterns or trends in your data.

How BI solves spreadsheets’ problems

BI reporting tools address the limitations of spreadsheets by providing a more user-friendly interface, powerful data analysis features, and more built-in report creation and visualization tools.

User-friendly interfaces

One of the biggest complaints about spreadsheets is that they’re not very user-friendly. BI reporting tools solve this problem by providing an interface that is designed for data analysis. This means that you don’t have to be a tech expert to use the tool—anyone in your organization can learn how to use it with ease.

Powerful data analysis

BI reporting tools also offer powerful data analysis features that make it easy to spot trends, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions.

For example, BI tools can help you quickly identify which products are selling well and which ones aren’t. They can also show you which marketing campaigns are generating the most leads or which customer service issues are causing the most problems.

By having this information at your fingertips, you can make decisions that will have a positive impact on your business.

Powerful data visualization

Another advantage of BI reporting tools is that they come with built-in report creation and visualization features. This means that you can easily create reports that are easy to understand, and you can also visualize your data in a way that makes it easy to spot patterns and trends.

This is a huge advantage over spreadsheets, which only have basic data visualization.

Additionally, BI tools make it easy to share reports with stakeholders. This can help you get buy-in for your decisions and ensure that everyone in your organization is on the same page.

Switching from spreadsheets to BI

If you’re still using spreadsheets as your primary tool for data analysis and decision-making, now is the time to make the switch to a BI reporting tool. But how can you make the transition without causing disruptions to your business?

Determine your goals

Before you can choose the right BI reporting tool, you need to take a step back and determine your goals. What do you hope to achieve by using a BI tool?

Do you want to be able to spot trends in your data? Do you want to be able to create reports that are easy to understand? Do you want to be able to share reports with stakeholders?

By determining your goals, you can narrow down your options and choose a BI tool that is best suited for your needs.

Evaluate your options

Once you know what you’re looking for, it’s time to evaluate your options. There are dozens of BI reporting tools on the market, so it’s important to take the time to find one that is a good fit for your business.

When evaluating your options, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

• Ease of use: The tool should be easy to use, even for those who are not tech-savvy.
• Pricing: The tool should be affordable for your business.
• Features: The tool should have the features you need to achieve your goals.

Test the tool

Once you’ve narrowed down your options, it’s time to test the tool. The best way to do this is to sign up for a free trial of the tool. This will give you a chance to see how the tool works and whether or not it’s a good fit for your needs.

Many vendors also offer demos where you can see the tool in action without having to interact with it yourself.

If the tool is a good fit, you can then start using it for your data analysis and decision-making. If not, you can move on to another option. This will help you find the right BI tool for your business without disrupting your operations.

Train your employees

If you decide to switch to a BI reporting tool, you’ll need to train your employees on how to use it. Fortunately, most BI tools are designed to be user-friendly, so this shouldn’t be too difficult.

Start by having a few employees test the tool and creating some reports. Once they’re comfortable with it, you can then roll it out to the rest of your team. You should also create some training materials, such as tutorial videos or step-by-step guides, that employees can reference if they need help.

Making the switch from spreadsheets to a BI reporting tool can be a challenge, but it’s worth it. BI tools offer a number of advantages over spreadsheets, including ease of use, powerful data analysis features, and built-in report creation and visualization.

The bottom line

Far too many companies rely on spreadsheets for data analysis and decision-making. If you’re one of them, it’s time to make the switch to a BI reporting tool.

BI tools offer a number of advantages over spreadsheets, and they can help you make better decisions for your business. When you can control how and when your staff accesses information, you can make decisions that will have a positive impact on your business.