The Sage Business Intelligence Revolution

Early feedback indicates that some Sage partners see the Business Intelligence tools as a way to leverage their existing reporting skills into interactive, real-time analysis. Although some IT purists are threatened by the move toward self-service business intelligence, many analysts, including The Gartner Group, have acknowledged that Excel is the preferred tool of most business users for analyzing and consuming business intelligence information. Tools like Microsoft Excel PivotTables and Pivot Charts, the Alchemex Connector, and the Microsoft PowerPivot self-service business intelligence tool for Office 2010 (www.PowerPivot.com) make it possible for accountants to create sophisticated analyses, which were previously only available to the largest companies.

The ways companies buy and implement software will continue to evolve, and both end users and consultants must continue to look for ways to provide value in a competitive marketplace. Tools like Sage Business Intelligence create competitive advantage for the organizations who use them as well as the accountants and consultants who learn how to successfully work with them. These leaders will be positioned to take advantage of many new opportunities not available to those who ignore this self-service business intelligence revolution.