Microsoft® Business Intelligence For Dummies®

Part IV. Incorporating Microsoft Business Intelligence into Your Business Environment

In this part . . .

This part walks you through the process of incorporating Microsoft Business Intelligence into your organization. Every organization is different; some are more techno-crazed than others. Some already have mature Microsoft IT departments; others tiptoe into the Microsoft waters.

The size of your organization also comes into play when incorporating Microsoft Business Intelligence. A small- or medium-sized organization has more flexibility in its internal bureaucracies; large organizations often rumble with internal politics when a new solution looms, generating pushback that hasn't much practical or technical merit but must still be dealt with. But identifying the best hardware and software is only the beginning. Getting everyone on board can be a big challenge; the success of your BI project may hinge on managing the impact of change.

In this part, you find out how to set your BI goals and implementation plan. You explore the process of evaluating and choosing the best parts of Microsoft BI to fit your existing infrastructure and knowledge base. You get a look at testing and rolling out a BI system, one iteration at a time. Finally, you get pointers on involving users from the get-go as sources of priceless feedback for your BI implementation.