Businesses have long been reliant upon timely access to valuable information to make the right decisions operationally, strategically and financially, while modern reporting analytics solutions have bolstered the ability to garner actionable insights from large volumes of data. At first, many firms chose to deploy reporting analytics solutions in efforts to create more efficient and accurate record-keeping functionality, improving responsiveness to compliance in the process. 

This reasoning for investing in reporting analytics solutions is certainly righteous, but there is so much more a company can get out of these technologies. Decision-makers in certain businesses have recognized that the next step past simple reporting improvements can be the use of analytics for strategic purposes, working to garner the actionable insights necessary to excel in the market on a variety of levels, and achieving greatness as a result. 

Regardless of which industry or size classification a company might be defined by, the use of reporting analytics is becoming less of an option and more of a critical move to remain competitive and relevant in the modern market. Considering the fact that studies project a majority of organizations to be using big data and reporting analytics within the near future, the time is now to begin provisioning these solutions and getting them into play. 

Without these solutions in place, businesses will likely struggle to get the most out of the high volumes of data that are now entering into the equation in virtually every industry, and this could lead to a significant disadvantage with respect to competition. On the flip side, organizations which proactively and intelligently deploy these technologies will be more likely to gain an edge through more accurate and effective decision-making every step of the way. 

Case in point
Manufacturing Business Technology Magazine recently interviewed LNS Research President and Principal Analyst Matthew Littlefield regarding the extreme increase in analytics deployments throughout the aerospace and defense sector. Although this industry might not seem relevant to many others, it is an excellent place to begin looking at the value of reporting analytics solutions given the more extreme and weighty challenges businesses face therein. 

From compliance and security to operational efficiency and beyond, all types of manufacturers have found value in more advanced analytics solutions, paving the way for others to follow suit. According to the news provider, Littlefield told editorial director Jeff Reinke that the common goal appears to be aligning analytics solutions with operational objectives, specifically those that are meant to boost efficiency and create cohesion across the business. 

"The Digital Thread is the idea of seamlessly integrating information through the value chain, so from design, through engineering, supply chain, production, quality, delivery, service and so on," Littlefield affirmed to MBT Magazine. "All these functions are able to share contextualized information in a bi-directional flow of digital information where they would typically require manual reporting and analysis to achieve the necessary information. The goal is to achieve complete traceability throughout the value chain."

With respect to some of the challenges that businesses are facing when deploying these solutions, the expert argued that siloing information – a common practice in many sectors – is hindering optimal outcomes. 

"Within manufacturing businesses, at the operational level we're seeing that companies are still highly focused on overcoming informational silos across the enterprise, and these days, the required pace of response from the market to remain competitive is putting enormous strain on these companies," he added to Reinke. "As the technology is advancing and early adopters are showing success, it's pushing the market further as a whole."

While targeted at manufacturers in the aerospace and defense sector, this guidance can be helpful for others in different industries as well. 

Main takeaways
One of the main points that many experts have tried to make is that reporting analytics solutions are modern technologies that will not function optimally when the company is using and managing them with outdated strategies. Rather, the mentality of the business needs to change to ensure that the software is being used properly and coming back with the highest possible return on investment. 

Now, it is often best to overhaul management and governance strategies ahead of the provisioning phase of deployments to ensure alignment of investments to specific needs and objectives. There are a wealth of options out there today for businesses to take advantage of, meaning that leaders can be extremely selective when making the final choice on a purchase. 

By first adjusting the strategy to be relevant in the modern era and then deploying reporting analytics solutions that best accompany and support the company's mission, leaders will be treated to more timely and accurate delivery of insights to guide the decision-making process. In the end, this can reduce risk, drive efficiency and strengthen productivity across departments in a relatively short period of time.