Are We Getting Any Closer to Self-Service Business Intelligence?

For some time, it has been a goal for business intelligence (BI) managers to implement self-service BI. The objective is for end users to develop their own queries and generate their own reports, offloading IT.

During a recession, the need for self-service BI becomes even greater. But after several years, and despite a spate of user-friendly BI tools on the market, the reality has not lived up to the hype. Contrary to popular belief, cheaper and easier query and analysis tools do not readily translate into self-service BI for the business masses.

This paper examines why and presents a popular and cost-effective solution, which is augmenting, and in some cases replacing, the approach of licensing BI tools for all business users who need to do analysis.