Whether you need expense reports or sales quotas, business intelligence is an important part of any successful business. Here’s how SQL Server training can help you access that intelligence.
What is Business Intelligence?
Every business has a range of important data called business intelligence — financial records, manufacturing quotas, sales data and logistical information, distribution logistics, and more.
Put simply, business intelligence is any information about your business that enables you to make better decisions and optimize performance.
Having a well-organized database, allows you to access information essential to your business quickly and easily if the users are properly trained in how to make the best use of the system.
Microsoft SQL Server is considered one of the leaders in database management and business intelligence.
Why SQL Server?
Flexibility and Performance Make Information Accessible
The SQL Server enables the user to utilize their choice of language and platform in the cloud or on-premises. The databases are also easily scalable, contributing to the SQL Server being top-of-the-line.
This flexibility means that the information your business needs is always right at your fingertips, no matter what programming language you know or platform your business uses. Whether you need to look at how many orders have shipped in the past month or look at quarter-over-quarter growth, it’s all right there waiting for you.
Secure, Intelligent, and Convenient
The SQL Server protects data, being the best protected database over the past 7 years, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. SQL server is also able to transform your business via real-time analytics at speeds up to 1M predictions/second. Data can then be turned into meaningful reports that can be delivered all over and to every device.
We cannot understate the importance of these analytics to businesses. For everything from keeping track of expenses to projecting sales, the business intelligence these reports can offer can help your business make smart decisions when it comes to everything from spending to marketing.
What’s new with MS SQL Server?
SQL server has shown tremendous improvement over the years, with a modernized look, many more features added, and a number of technologies bundled in. However, according to Andrew Brust of ZDNet, one of the things he took away from all his work with Microsoft SQL 2017 is that it still felt like the exact same database he started working with 25 years ago.
This means that for IT professionals who have experience working with older versions of Microsoft SQL, the new version is just as easy to navigate while boasting new security protocols and features that can benefit your business. However, as with most software, thorough training is essential to make sure you’re getting the best use out of the systems you choose.
Support for Linux Environments
Returning to the *NIX platform with a new version of the platform for Linux means more options for businesses running the system. Rather than having a few Windows servers in the data center just for the use of hosting the SQL Server, companies will now be able to run the SQL Server on Windows, Linux, or a combination of the two.
Because you won’t need a dedicated data center, this change means more businesses can take advantage of all the SQL server has to offer, including the storage and generation of stats that can help you make informed decisions. If you are considering bringing Microsoft SQL into your business, investing in having your IT team trained in its use can impact the benefits you see from it.
The Importance of Business Intelligence
So now you know how Microsoft SQL can help you generate and maintain business intelligence, but how important is that intelligence to your business? Simply put, it can determine if your business succeeds or fails.
Business intelligence encompasses everything that can be put into number reports, which will of course vary by industry and business, but will almost always include things like income, outgoing expenses, marketing expenses, and sales.
Keeping track of those items, especially as businesses undergo rapid growth, can help keep everything ‘in the green’. To ensure your business remains solvent even as you invest more in the marketing and technology, make sure your employees are properly trained in that technology.
These are only a few of the reasons why the SQL Server is one of the most powerful and innovative database management systems.
But, in order for all of these features to be used properly, it is important for your employees to undergo SQL Server training. Training will ensure your employees know all the best practices to help you use SQL to its full potential to help your business succeed.