Implementation of Business Intelligence Systems : A study of possibilities and difficulties in small IT-enterprises

Abstract: This thesis is written at the department of Business Studies at Uppsala University. The study addresses the differences in possibilities and difficulties of implementing business intelligence (BI)-systems among small IT-enterprises. BI-systems support enterprises in decision-making. To answer the aim of this thesis, theories regarding organizational factors determining a successful implementation of a BI-system were used. Theories regarding components of BI- systems, data warehouse (DW) and online analytical processing (OLAP) were also used. These components enable the decision-support provided by a BI-system. A qualitative study was performed, at four different IT-enterprises, to gather the empirical material. Interviews were performed with CEOs and additional employees at the enterprises. After the empirical material was gathered an analysis was performed to draw conclusion regarding the research topic. The study has concluded that there are differences in possibilities and difficulties of implementing BI-systems among small IT-enterprises. A difference among the enterprises is the perceived ability to finance an implementation. Another difference is in the managerial- and organizational support of an implementation, but also in the business need of using a BI- system in decision-making. There are also differences in how the enterprises use a DW. Not all enterprises benefits from the ability of a DW to manage complex and large amounts of data, neither from the advanced analysis performed by OLAP. The enterprises thus need to examine further if the use of a BI-system is beneficial and would be used successfully in their company.