Who will the BI end users be, and what will they need?
Understanding the ultimate end users of the system before selecting the final product can go a long way toward user adoption and the overall success of the system, experts said. Ask such questions as: How many users will BI have now and in the future? Will this BI tool be used outside the firewall by customers or partners? Will the tool be used in the U.S. only, or internationally? Do executives or salespeople need mobile BI capabilities? Will we implement dashboards, scorecards or data visualization tools? How important is real-time BI for operational workers, like customer service staff or tech support? What kinds of ad hoc queries must the tool be able to handle? How many users will be querying the system concurrently? Are the users technically adept or will they need a simple interface?

What's my budget?
Once a business case and corporate sponsorship is established for the BI purchase, you'll often know your budget. (If you're lucky, you'll be involved in the process of deciding that number.) Staying within a budget can be difficult, especially because it's impossible to predict extra expenses that may accrue from minor issues, extra training, maintenance or other tasks, McKnight said. Consider also the cost of hardware, if applicable. Experts recommend creating a detailed BI budget -- allotting money for each step of the purchasing and implementation process -- and tracking expenses regularly.

What's our timeframe for implementation?
Is there a corporate deadline for implementation? BI can take anywhere from one week to one year to implement. Allow time for your BI team to evaluate vendors, complete a proof of concept, negotiate with the vendor, implement software and hardware, train administrators and users, and troubleshoot problems. Break down each step and develop a detailed project plan, experts recommend.

Should Business Intelligence be a staff function, or should I use an outsider?
The answer to that is an absolute "it depends." Larger businesses often have staff resources that can do most of the data gathering and analysis. They will often benefit though, but having an outside perspective during the analysis phase.
Smaller businesses almost never have the internal staff resources to do an effective Business Intelligence job. The exception to this is if there is a person (often the CEO) who does the BI work because he or she likes it. Smaller businesses and independent business professionals can usually benefit from outside help with information gathering and with analysis and recommendation.

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