In Singapore's continuous efforts towards digital transformation, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has launched the Better Data Driven Business (BDDB) programme on 14 September 2021.
Aimed at assisting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in leveraging the power of data analytics, the BDDB programme is designed to help SMEs gain deeper consumer insights and scale up their businesses through the responsible utilisation of their business data.
Source: IMDA
In this blog post, we will give you an insight into what the BDDB programme is all about, and provide answers to the following questions you might have about it:
- What Is The BDDB, And What Is It Not?
- What Does It Offer?
- What Is The Free BI Tool?
- Do I Need More Than The BDDB To Use The BI Tool?
- What If I Want To Do More With The BI Tool?
What Is The BDDB, And What Is It Not?
The BDDB programme is an initiative from IMDA, and is not a government grant. Its core objective is to educate and empower SMEs with the knowledge and skills required to leverage data effectively.
The programme caters to two types of SMEs:
- SMEs that are just starting to learn how to use data to generate insights
- SMEs actively seeking to apply and share their data for more complex purposes.
By participating in the BDDB, SMEs can learn how to collect data safely, combine data across systems with adequate protections, and share data externally with partners and suppliers while complying with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).
What Does The BDDB Offer?
The BDDB website offers interested SMEs the opportunity to download a free BI tool – called the Business Intelligence Tool – for their data analytics needs.
Alongside the BI tool, the BDDB programme provides an Interactive Guide that offers step-by-step instructions on how to utilize the BI tool effectively.
Additionally, the website offers a list of pre-approved SMEs Go Digital solutions that are compatible with the BI tool, allowing SMEs to integrate various software solutions seamlessly.
The Free BI Tool Is Actually Power BI Desktop
The free BI tool offered through the BDDB programme is, in fact, Microsoft Power BI Desktop – the free version of Power BI designed for individual users.
It empowers SMEs to create and modify charts, perform self-service reporting, and gain valuable insights from their business data.
While this free version of Power BI satisfies the needs of SMEs which require only basic data analytics capabilities, it does not encompass the advanced features offered by Power BI Pro—the paid version of Power BI.
Do I Need More Than The BDDB To Implement Power BI?
How AFON IT Can Support Your Power BI Journey. Source: AFON IT
If your business only requires a tool for personal data analysis and reporting, utilising Power BI Desktop in conjunction with the BDDB's Interactive Guide should be sufficient for your needs.
However, as your SME grows and expands its employee count, it means that your business now has multiple end users that need to collaborate and share reports and dashboards.
At this point, upgrading to Power BI Pro becomes essential. Power BI Pro offers advanced collaboration and sharing capabilities, enabling SMEs like yours to harness the full potential of Power BI's features for comprehensive data analysis and reporting.
What Should I Do If I Want To Use The Advanced Features Of Power BI?
To fully utilise Power BI's advanced features and optimise its potential, your SME may require assistance from professionals experienced in data analytics and business intelligence.
Certain aspects of an implementation of Power BI Pro – such as infrastructure setup, security configurations, development of advanced formulae, configuring alerts, and ongoing support and maintenance – may necessitate technical expertise that you might not possess in-house.
That’s why if you’re thinking about implementing Power BI Pro in your business, you might want to outsource the implementation work to a qualified managed IT service provider.
The BDDB Helps SMEs Get Started With Power BI, But You Need Technical Expertise To Unlock Its Full Potential
The BDDB programme by IMDA presents a valuable opportunity for SMEs to embrace data analytics, if they haven’t done so already. Through the BDDB, an SME can not only download the free Power BI Desktop, but the Interactive Guide can help them get a head start on performing self-service data analysis and reporting.
However, if your SME has grown enough to have multiple end users that need to share reports and dashboards in order to collaborate effectively, you should consider paying the subscription fee to purchase the Power BI Pro license.
Moreover, you’d need the right technical expertise to properly set up and customise Power BI Pro to best suit your SME’s specific data analysis needs. If you do not have sufficient in-house IT expertise to do so, another option is to turn to managed IT services.
At AFON IT Pte Ltd, our consultants have the expertise to advise on how you can tailor Power BI Pro to your SME’s specific data analytics needs.
Consulting with experts, such as the consultants at AFON IT, can ensure SMEs implement Power BI effectively and tailor it to their specific data analytics needs. If you’d like to book a consultation with us, do drop us a note here or give us a call at +65 9192 6563.
Otherwise, if you’d like to get a headstart on understanding what Microsoft Power BI is, and what it can do for your SME, click on the image below and download our all-in-one guide to the BI tool.
