Can't see the forest for the trees?

For every business, it's not the size of their customer or accounting database, it's how they use it that counts.

At last month's Thrive International business conference in Auckland, GlobalBizpro canvassed business leaders about their biggest frustrations at work. Overwhelmingly, trying to get clear, relevant reports instantly is the grumble of choice for most executives. ERP systems naturally build massive amounts of data as each day comes and goes, but not being able to extract maximum value from it is inefficient, frustrating and costly.

Sure, ERP systems usually come with a wad of standard reports, most of which make you yawn, but these are not enough – well, not to manage a business, anyway.   The world around us is changing so much faster, and these old, static, accounting-style reports don't deliver the fast insight that allow for accurate and timely business decisions to get competitive advantage and grow profits.

In the days when the annual plan was, well, annual, and the month's results finally became available at the end of the next month (at best), using ERP system reports was good enough.  Decisions on change, and the speed of reacting, took months, but all was good.

It's almost 2012 and a lot of business owners - managers say they are fed up with the out-dated way they get financial information about the health of their business. You can send an email in an instant and read breaking news online. Why can't you see vital KPI data and business-critical information at the same click-of-a-button speed?

Businesses that endure with out-dated reporting technologies face ever-increasing frustration, and perhaps eventually failure. Many believe that the vital data they need for better management is simply impossible to get.

However, the reporting gurus at GlobalBizpro can help.  Senior consultant David Cheer says providing dashboards and live data feeds to all corners of an organisation (including the company website) is what keeps his team happy.

"It's all about knowing that our customers can be given the best data to keep them on top of their game," Cheer says.

"I get a thrill when I see a report pack come alive in Microsoft Excel in seconds for my clients. Full Board reporting bundles are produced in minutes now.  Many of the CEO's and CFO's I have helped, previously spent days, sometimes weeks, in Excel producing the same things each month.

Along with powerful ERP offerings, GlobalBizpro have an extensive suite of reporting tools that allow today's managers to escape the report standards of the 80s.

Alchemex, for example, is an inexpensive and very powerful tool that still allows the user to work within Microsoft Excel, but provides functionality for deployment, and power not seen in any standard reporting pack. It is well supported, and provides online training on all the necessary skills, including Excel.

Businesses who inquire about Alchemex will go into the draw to win a one-year full user license worth $3284. You could also win a set of four Excel on Steroids online courses focussing on data analysis, worth $1050.