Business intelligence gives construction firms the opportunity to look at trends in the industry and adjust their company accordingly to give their enterprise a competitive advantage. Not only does BI aid in decision making, but it also allows construction firms to be more agile in their processes and make quick changes when the information they are collecting calls for it.

A recent article for Enterprise Apps Today summarized a list from the Fall 2012 issue of MIT Sloan Management Review about how business decision makers can be more agile. The article suggests business leaders work to help their companies use information mined from BI data and gain an edge on other firms in the industry.

Empower IT, get decision-makers the best data
Too many companies are trying to use self-service BI, cutting out the IT sector from all BI deployment. However, a better strategy for construction BI is allowing IT to collect the information and provide context for how and why it can help the construction management team with decision making. The better the data quality, the better the insights construction executives will gain from their BI deployments. IT professionals are there for a reason and it is silly to not allow them to help with BI.

Make smart decisions, not fast ones   
Many executives are mistaken in thinking that BI forces them to make fast decisions, which may not be the best ones. BI helps business leaders gain insights and information about their customer base. Construction executives need to take time to process this data and make the decisions that will allow their firm the best possible opportunity to succeed. Making "knee-jerk" reactions to new information collected by BI can be a mistake the construction management team will kick themselves over in the future.

Look for ways to improve offerings
BI tools are a great way to gather data from all types of sources, including websites, blogs and social media sites, to name a few. Taking this information into account and using it to create better lead generation opportunities and retain current customers is one of the main benefits of BI. When construction executives truly master BI, they will gain a better understanding for how the information streams work, and what data will help them make the best decisions in the future.