Traditional BI tools are found in many companies and are largely used for operational reporting. A lot of companies that are using earlier versions of ERP will have these tools. Some of the notable traditional BI tools are Business Objects, Microsoft SSRS, Crystal Reports, and Cognos.

These tools are query based and are heavily dependent on the IT team. They are difficult to customize and may become slow over the years. Normally, you will find hundreds of reports which have been developed by IT. These tools are prone to lower adoption over time and make business users usually switch to Excel. They prefer taking dumps (or exporting data) and preparing reports in Excel. These users have a reporting and analytical background, and are going to be looking at the next level. The consultant must work out a different approach in such companies. The approach needs to be based on the usage and expectations of the users.