7 BI Tool Selection Criteria to Use in Your Evaluation Process

Reporting Capabilities
It's a given to want to see reports on your data, but what’s the threshold between reports and insights? Any modern-day business intelligence tool can do more than present information out of data; reporting actual takeaways is what gives companies steam.

Clear Data Visualizations
Data — and information — are only as helpful as they are interpretable. When graphs, charts and other visual layouts present findings to a company, all teams and departments benefit.

Data Consolidation
Any organization with active data-collection efforts will have multiple data sources. Keeping data sources separate creates data silos and causes internal teams to work and make decisions off disparate information. For your data to be worthwhile, it needs to be cleansed and integrated in a way that keeps teams working on the same page.

Knowledge at Scale
Data generation continues to accelerate. If you’re involved now, you’ll certainly be more involved in the future. Any BI tool you select should handle your untapped knowledge as it grows. No limitations, no user access restrictions—just accessibility.

User Friendly? Business intelligence tools are in part smart because they communicate complex information through an easy-to-use interface. If a business intelligence tool is hard to use, how will your entire business use it?

Automated Alerts
Many companies’ data efforts never fully get off the ground due to lack of internal buy-in. A BI platform that brings insights to users through push-based insights or email alerts is critical to ensure roles across an organization integrate data into their workflows.

AI-Powered
It would be negligible not to mention artificial intelligence among business intelligence-selection criteria. AI plays a pivotal role in how data is—and will be—accessed within the modern-day business.