The cheap BI

The CIO.com published last month an article called Business Intelligence (BI) for Less Than $25k, by Steven A. Miller. He is VP of the company mentioned in the article, and he talks about the experience to implement a BI for less than $25K.

I think it is valid as a first BI project, but have some issues.

First of all, the cost of BI is not only the tools, although they are the most visible cost. You have the cost of infrastructure and the people involved in the development.

For implement a BI, you need to think how will be the evolution, the next steps. BI is not just another IT project, it is a continuous process. You need to apply some best practices if you want a succesful BI. Finally, you also need to think about data issues (governance, quality, integration).

If you want lower costs, exist another ways to obtain. For example, you can think in some solution using SaaS or Open Source BI.

In my opinion, this example is simple, and doesn't apply in middle and large companies that looking for an effective BI.

You should measure the value to implement a BI using the cost benefit analysis, the cost proposed of BI project in relation to the benefits to the company, don't forgetting the intangible values implicit in the process.