Recession is no more a fear but a stark reality and corporate giants of the highest order have fallen like packs of cards in these gloomy times. Such mega failures have not only crippled the economy and dampened sentiments but raised questions on the foresight and planning of top management of such companies.

The economic slowdown has forced businesses to restrict capital expenditure, cut costs and revisit their production and sales targets. These are surely testing times, and no business can afford to make any costly mistakes. Operational efficiency along with the most stringent financial management can help businesses see through the recession. Only the fittest shall survive, those choosing to ignore competition and market realities are destined to perish.

Contrary to assumptions of many small and medium sized business owners, business intelligence is not a fancy word meant for boardrooms of large corporates - it is as important for smaller businesses as it is for larger. In fact, considering that smaller businesses have exposure in just one or two areas and much lesser financial resources at their disposal, optimizing performance based on business intelligence becomes all the more critical.

It is also a myth that business intelligence can only be accomplished by allocating huge budgets. Thanks to the efforts of professional business intelligence solution providers, even small business owners can now have economical access to financial benchmarking and other business intelligence tools. For instance, Fintel's Business Scorecard Premium Edition that provides a quick and actionable snapshot of the company's financial performance in comparison to its industry and competitors is available for just $29. Similarly, other reports and business intelligence solutions provided are economical and justifiably priced.

By making judicious use of business intelligence tools, finance directors and small business owners can track and improve upon critical aspects of business performance including liquidity, efficiency - turnover, profitability - ROI and growth.