Business intelligence for the SME

September 2009 from CAmagazine and written by Mark Canes - “…Michael Burns, a CA and CAmagazine columnist, writes frequently about BI. He states that some mid-range ERP systems are adding dashboards that are configurable, with drill downs, frequently at little or no additional cost. Burns says he is seeing more affordable on-line query and browser-based tools emerging.

But is this being effectively communicated? If the perception among those in the IT industry is that the cost of technology is no longer a barrier to BI for the SME, that view is not necessarily shared by end users. Beth Crawford, CMA, controller for Toppits Foods Ltd. in Vaughan, Ont., has been working on a project to implement a comprehensive BI solution for some time. “It’s hard to find a cost-effective platform that is affordable now, but that you can grow with,” she says…”

180 View – Mark is a good writer as well as extremely knowledgeable about IT. He is also president of Blue Link, a developer of ERP solutions for SMEs. Mark writes about Business Intelligence with no bias for any product including his own software. Mark is someone that I respect for his knowledge and integrity.