Business intelligence (BI) is instrumental in helping businesses make smart, data-driven decisions that can have a real impact on their bottom line. Managed reporting is an increasingly valuable component of BI that can help organizations streamline their data analytic efforts. Keep reading to learn more about managed reporting and what it can do for your business.
Understanding Managed Reporting
What is managed reporting? Managed reporting is a business intelligence term that describes the outsourcing of report creation and distribution to a third-party report developer. The benefits of managed reporting include improved efficiency, reduced costs, and improved decision-making.
A company that utilizes managed reporting employs a service provider that will design, create, and distribute reports on the company’s behalf. This can be done through manual processes or automated systems. Managed reporting services will often have more experience in report design and creation than the company itself, so they can be relied upon to produce high-quality reports that are accurate and timely.
Working With Managed Reporting Services
Organizations employ managed reporting services to provide regular reports on specific data, usually in a predetermined format, such as monthly reports or quarterly reports.
The managed reporting service will work with the organization to understand their needs and create a report template that will be used to generate all future reports. Once the report template is finalized, the managed reporting service will automate the generation of these reports on a regular basis.
When choosing a managed reporting service for your business, be sure to consider your organization’s needs, budget, and any other features that are important to you. Many managed reporting services offer additional features such as data analysis, data visualization, and customer relationship management (CRM) integration.
Realizing the Benefits of Managed Reporting Services
Managed reporting services employ report developers who specialize in programming concepts like SQL queries and CSV language. The benefits of managed reporting services include:
- Increased efficiency and productivity: By outsourcing the report creation and management process to a managed reporting service, businesses can save time and resources. This allows employees to focus on other tasks, which leads to increased efficiency and productivity.
- Improved accuracy and timeliness: Managed reporting services have the resources and expertise to create accurate and timely reports. This means businesses can rely on them for accurate information, which helps them make better decisions.
- Reduced costs: businesses can save money by outsourcing the report creation and management process to a managed reporting service. This is because the service will likely be less expensive than hiring a full-time employee to manage reports.
- Increased flexibility and scalability: A managed reporting service can easily adapt to the needs of a business. This means businesses can scale up or down as needed, which gives them greater flexibility.
Overall, with managed reporting, businesses can get the reports they need without having to worry about the time and effort it takes to create them.
Troubleshooting Your Managed Reporting
Problems with managed reporting services may occur due to various factors, from incorrect configuration to server issues. The first step in troubleshooting is to isolate the problem and identify the source. This can be done by checking the service status, reviewing event logs, and testing connectivity.
If the problem is with the report server, you can try running reports manually or using a report builder. If the problem is with data retrieval, you can check permissions and refresh data sources.
Managed reporting is an important part of business intelligence because it allows companies to keep track of their performance and make improvements where necessary. Overall, it is a valuable tool that can help businesses remain efficient and productive in their operations.
