When it comes to business planning and forecasting, the business intelligence systems a business use are incredibly important.
Quality BI systems will meet the demand for financial information, provide accurate budgeting tools create forecasts for business use, consolidate systems across the business and integrate various software and hardware systems.
For those in IT, Moore's Law is old news, but many industries are just learning about the power of information technology. To put it in as widely an applicable way as possible, Moore's Law states that information processing technology will double every two years. While this did not affect businesses in the earlier years of information technology, the fact is that most business systems are now integrated with information systems and are therefore driven by Moore's Law as well.
Because of this, the demand for financial information continues to increase. This applies greater pressure on financial professionals to deliver information to stakeholders throughout an organization faster and more efficiently than ever before. Having business intelligence systems integrated within an organization allows for the accurate dissemination of information to internal stakeholders, from simple bookkeeping positions to the CFO and CEO.
In the past, many companies used different software applications to manage multiple processes. Today, companies are gaining competitive advantage by deploying one solution for all processes by combining core financial processes like budgeting, planning, consolidation, forecasting and reporting.
One solution means shared data, common definitions, better security, and increased ease of use. Implementation of one solution integrates all the different systems and reduces human data entry errors, increases the speed of reporting, and reduces financial and labor stresses from keeping systems up to date with the ever-expanding technological world.
Having a positive, quality consulting relationship with a firm like 5x Technology enables organizations to manage core financial processes efficiently and effectively.
A good enterprise platform enables all employees and managers in a company to participate in a collaborative budgeting and forecast process. A great enterprise platform allows organizations to respond immediately to changes in the market and provide comprehensive reporting to all levels of managers, through a web browser accessible by any user, anywhere, anytime.
Consolidated information and business systems are essential in modeling your business. Once the models have been built, the computer infrastructure is re-engineered to provide managers with data so that 'actual' data can be evaluated and appropriate plans and forecasts developed.
5x Technology works with each customer to ensure that there is proper consolidation of information within your organization, which ensures that there is a clear understanding of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and business metrics rather than creating disparate goals, disjointed management systems and multiple communication layers. Ultimately you need a process for data interpretation, and 5x technology can help you implement that process, whether it is using IBM Cognos or another solution.
With a single enterprise system it's possible to integrate different financial, ERP systems, Customer Management, Human Resource and more all from one spot. A great technological solution integrates with various points of sale, inventory management and other hardware concerns.
Software like IBM Cognos can manage all of your data- history, actual, budgets, and forecasts from any source. Proper software lets you map data from multiple sources such as General Ledgers, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Human Resource (HR) systems, and use a master set of accounts, resulting in a single financial view of your organization.
In addition to profitability, the market value of a company is determined, to a great extent, by the execution of its business model. Businesses must streamline their process of planning and forecasting by developing a flexible and collaborative enterprise methodology.
Integrated systems, models, hardware and software combined with accurate forecasting and planning give management the tools to accurately manage their companies with greater precision than ever before.
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