For some time now, we've been witnessing a shift in business decision-making. It's moving away from gut feelings towards data-driven, predictive, and agile decisions. Business Intelligence (BI) helps make data-driven decisions. These tools can also optimise business processes and create competitive advantages. Furthermore, BI systems can assist in identifying market trends and uncovering previously unknown patterns in your data. In short: BI allows you to generate new insights from existing information.
But is it worth developing your own expertise in this area, or is it more efficient to hire external service providers? To answer this, first distinguish whether you're asking about the technical or professional side. In both cases, you can further differentiate between an initial phase (conceptual planning/technical implementation) and ongoing operations (data analysis/technical maintenance).
Technical Implementation with External Partners
For the technical implementation of your chosen BI solution (whether it's Microsoft Power BI, SAP Analytics Cloud, QlikView or similar), I recommend bringing in an external partner. These specialists can support you in setting up report structures and connecting the necessary data (Tip: When selecting a system, consider several options — much like tasting different chocolates to find the best one). Even later, during ongoing operations, it's advantageous to have a partner for technical administration — but ensure that you retain a basic level of expertise in-house (such as in IT, controlling, or a dedicated 'Data Lab') so you don't need an external partner for every minor technical requirement.
Now, let's look at the professional aspect. During the conceptual phase, I also recommend leveraging external expertise. In my own experience, it can be beneficial to have a different perspective on your data, reports, and evaluations, opening up new possibilities for what you can achieve with your data. Ideally, you might break away from some established structures (e.g., shifting towards more future-oriented reports instead of merely describing the past and the current state).
Don't Forget: Build Internal Expertise
Nonetheless, as part of the conceptual planning, you should focus on building internal expertise, ensuring that the future data handlers (such as controllers, data scientists) are closely engaged. This 'strategic knowledge' should ideally reside within your organisation, though it is perfectly acceptable to consult an external partner later for very specific analyses.
In short: For the technical aspects, I recommend outsourcing as much as possible, concentrating minimal resources in-house. For the professional aspects, I suggest the opposite. However, there is no one-size-fits-all answer, and it should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
(Source: B4B-Schwaben)
