dAre you one of those entrepreneurs who are thinking to start a new business? Well, I am pretty sure you want it to be successful. In this fast-paced business world, it is necessary for you to have the insight and data needed in order to take the right decision at the right time. And to help you take the optimal decision, Business Intelligence (BI) is the key. It helps business professionals to drive their enterprises’ success, combining technology, analytics and knowledge. Some people think that BI is only needed for large companies. Wrong! As technology has rapidly developed BI tools are not only powerful and lightweight but also easier to access. If you want your business to survive in this competitive world, your business should be BI and analytic based. And, if you are confused how to start a business intelligence and analytic based business, follow these simple rules:

DELIVER DIVERSE TOOLS:

While you are running a business, you must make sure that all the necessary business intelligence tools are available. These tools are designed to fulfill various needs of the customers, and can be fully operated and adjusted by them. Using this self service BI tools, you can analyze thousands of data sources on your own. However, you must choose the right tool in order to address problems of many departments. For instance, CSV files or SQLdatabase can be used for sales departments, whereas for marketing, Facebook and other social media platforms can act as useful tools. Or you can get some packaged software offered by some BI software providers. However, before applying those on your business do cross check them to make sure those will be suitable for your business.

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER:

One of the most crucial tasks to consolidate your position in the customers’ mind is to know them first. Do thorough market research and find out what your customers actually need. To acquire and maintain the ground of loyal customers you need to forecast their needs. With the help of business intelligence, you can gather data on your customers’ behavior and structure them in an evident form for easy and quick analyzing. And once you know your customers, it will be easier for you to make the right decision.

ANALYZE YOUR DATA:

You can’t run a successful business if you give up analysis of your data. You don’t need to hire an IT firm and wait for a long time until they analyze your data. Using self-service BI tools you can analyze your data online and get the reports immediately, saving it in a neat and clear format on your personal drive. It will allow you to analyze data in real-time, providing your company a competitive advantage.

BE COOPERATIVE WITH YOUR CLIENTS/PARTNERS:

To run your business successfully, you need to take care of those people you are doing your business with. Yes, I am talking about your clients or business partners. In this fast growing business world, sometimes they need to pull some information or data that needs to be available to them. For that, you must cooperate with your clients. The more you cooperate with them, the easier it will be to access their vital information, which is necessary to run a business.

ENSURE DATA SECURITY:

No business can run successfully if the data is not secured. To protect your data, you must move your business data to a secure data storage facility. Some BI tools offer secured data warehousing solutions. Cloud storage solutions are becoming popular because of the security reasons. However, you must be careful that the cloud service provider ensures strict data security and conducts regular security audits.

BE PRUDENT:

So, you are starting a business today. Where will it stand after ten years? If you don’t pay heed then you are putting your business at risk. You must think about your future growth. Well, you don’t have any crystal ball to tell you about the future, so you need to assume it by yourself. For that, you need to be prudent. You need to analyze your past and present performance and growth of your business, to find the key to the future growth.

Doing business is not difficult if you can use the right tools. using proper use of the BI tools, you can run your business smoothly. You have lots of information coming to your company every day. Don’t just store them; use them properly to make the right decision about your business.

Bron: thetechnews.com

Het Rabo Pre-Seed Fund financiert in de drie business intelligence (bi)-start-ups Bolas, LeanLibrary en uCrowds. Zij zijn aangesloten bij UtrechtInc. Die start-up-incubator beheert het investeringsfonds namens Rabobank Utrecht en de Universiteit Utrecht. Iedere start-up ontvangt een lening van achttienduizend euro.

De drie start-ups hebben de eerste vier maanden bij UtrechtInc afgerond. Tijdens de zogenaamde Demo Day presenteerden zij hun voortgang en toekomststrategieën aan een onafhankelijke jury. Die bepaalt welke deelnemers bij de Utrechtse incubator morgen blijven voor het vervolgprogramma, de zogenaamde build fase. Daarnaast krijgen zij toegang tot een lening van achttienduizend euro bij het Rabo Pre-Seed Fund.

Tijdens de build fase moeten de start-ups doorgroeien tot een scale-up. Dat houdt in dat zij een omzet boven de één miljoen euro moeten realiseren. Daarna ‘vliegen ze uit’ bij de incubator. Tijdens deze (onbepaalde) periode krijgen deelnemers toegang tot onder meer huisvesting, een persoonlijke coach, netwerken, onderwijsmogelijkheden, experts, klanten en advies. Bovendien kunnen ze wederom pitchen voor een extra financiering van vijftigduizend euro.

UtrechtInc

UtrechtInc is gevestigd op het Utrecht Science Park en heeft momenteel dertig start-ups in huis. Gemiddeld blijven de startende ondernemingen zo’n twee jaar bij de incubator in huis. Het bedrijf claimt 150 start-ups te hebben ondersteund.

De BI-start-ups          

• Bolas: Biedt een projecttool waarmee studenten de meest relevante en betrouwbare bronnen uit Google en databanken filteren, bewaren en delen.
• LeanLibrary: Levert digitale dienstverlening voor (universiteits)bibliotheken om gebruikers snel en gemakkelijk toegang te bieden tot databases met wetenschappelijk materiaal.
• uCrowds: Creëert simulaties waarmee je kunt zien hoe mensenmassa's zich gaan gedragen op een bepaald terrein. Om zo potentieel gevaarlijke situaties op bijvoorbeeld festivals te analyseren en voorkomen.

Source: computable.nl, 23 januari 2017