Press Release

November 2008 TimberTrader News : Data is a Resource

Paul Gallo recently commented that "the business data recorded every day is one of the most important strategic tools a business has available, as it helps to form a picture of how the business performs under certain conditions. Data has little value on its own but once extracted and manipulated, it becomes a relevant story providing the opportunity for businesses to react to the current environment or scenario. Ideally, analysis of the information you produce enables proactive decision making, to be ahead of the game and in control of the success of your business."

Paul explains that "business agility refers to the speed and flexibility by which you make decisions" and posed the questions: "How quickly can you react to new market information or changes in market conditions?"

Responding to the need for enhanced business agility in the recent economic climate, Disprax have created a Business Intelligence tool.

Business Intelligence has been around since the early '90s and describes the methods of improving decision-making using available data.

Paul explains that "relational databases are not well suited for near instantaneous analysis and display of large amounts of data and many decision makers go through the process of extracting data into a spreadsheet and then using pivot tables or other tools to present the data with some context, making it more meaningful.

"Using superior technology large amounts of data can be extracted, manipulated and loaded into data warehouses. Presentation of data using online analytical processing (OLAP) displays data in a meaningful context almost instantaneously, without having to spend hours manipulating it.

"For example: to enable comparing this month’s sales to last month’s; reviewing how much of the total revenue a specific product brings in; looking at which customers deliver the most profitability. This context makes the analysis process much easier, naturally speeding up the process of decision making and benefiting the business."

As a strategic tool, your businesses history should help you direct the future success of your business. If you are not actively using its data to gain a competitive advantage, or you feel you're spending too much time creating and distributing reports then it’s worth taking some time to assess whether you are getting the most out of your data and your time.

Like many things, choosing the right tool can allow you to spend time on more important aspects of your business.