Business Intelligence (BI) refers to data analysis tools that help organizations make better decisions. Using BI, companies can increase productivity by taking advantage of information gathered from their operations.

Business analytics has become an essential part of modern business. The rise of big data, social media, and other digital technologies has led to unprecedented amounts of data generated every day. This data revolution has also created new opportunities for businesses of all sizes.

Businesses use BI to gain insights into their operations and identify ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Some examples include analyzing customer behavior and trends, identifying patterns in sales or inventory, and optimizing processes.

How business intelligence works

Business intelligence works by using software to analyze large amounts of data from various sources. Companies use this analysis to make better-informed decisions about running their operations. For example, if a company sells products online, it would use business intelligence to understand the effectiveness of its marketing efforts. Or, if a company operates a factory, it could use business intelligence to understand which product lines are most profitable.

Using business intelligence with cloud computing

When you work on projects in the cloud, your resources are spread across multiple servers. Cloud computing uses virtualization technology to create a pool of shared processing power. In addition, when you work in the cloud, you're sharing resources directly with other users.

This makes cloud computing ideal for collaboration because you can share files easily, access them securely, and perform tasks faster than ever before. By working together, you can get more done.

The benefits of cloud computing

Businesses can take advantage of several advantages of cloud computing. These advantages include:

• Scalability. You don't need to worry about hardware upgrades when you work in the cloud. You add additional computers as required.

• Flexibility. With cloud computing, you can choose what resources you want at any time. For instance, instead of buying expensive computer equipment upfront, you can pay for use as you go along.

• Security. Your data and applications are stored safely using encryption techniques. And they stay safe even if your devices are stolen or lost.

• Reliability. There are no downtimes if something goes wrong with one of your resources. If there is a problem, it will often fix itself automatically.

Business intelligence examples

Here are some examples of how business intelligence helps companies operate efficiently:

• Retailers can use business intelligence to track consumer purchases. They can then find out where customers buy specific items, such as vitamins or children's clothes. Based on these findings, retailers can adjust pricing or promotions accordingly.

• Healthcare providers can use business intelligence to determine what treatments are effective based on the results produced by clinical trials. This allows doctors to offer patients personalized care while reducing healthcare spending.

• Manufacturing firms can use business intelligence to develop strategies for improving efficiency. For example, they can analyze the performance of different machines or compare the cost of various materials. This allows managers to decide whether to invest in new machinery or change production methods.

Types of business intelligence tools and applications

There are many types of business intelligence tools that allow you to gather and analyze information. Some of the more common tools include:

• Dashboards. Dashboards help you see significant trends and patterns in your data. They also provide quick snapshots of a project to know what has been completed and what still needs to be worked on.

• Data mining. Data mining collects all the relevant information in a database and creates models that explain how things work. It helps predict future outcomes or identify patterns and anomalies among existing data.

• Reporting. Reporting enables you to organize your data into practical formats. Reports can look like graphs or charts or contain text or tables.

Business intelligence strategy

It is crucial to have a sound business intelligence strategy before implementing this technology. You must understand what information you want to collect and why, for starters. Make sure that the data you are ordering is meaningful to you. Collecting irrelevant data could hinder you from making good decisions.

It would help if you also considered who will be accessing your data. Will it be people outside your company? Are you sharing sensitive information? How will you store your data? What kind of security measures will you put in place?

Cloud computing is a great way to save money and increase productivity. But make sure that you use the right tool for the job. Business intelligence is a powerful tool, but it should not replace traditional processes. Instead, it should complement them. In other words, when you use BI, do so with caution. You don't want to add too much complexity to your system without knowing exactly what you are doing.

 Also, keep in mind that using more than one type of analytics software may become difficult because each program works differently. However, with careful planning, you can create an efficient BI solution that meets your needs.

Business intelligence analyst

A business intelligence analyst (BIAnalyst) uses business intelligence technologies to analyze your data and extract insights and actionable knowledge. A BIAnalyst analyzes data using various tools, including dashboards, reports, data mining, predictive modeling, etc. 

They then interpret those findings to give valuable recommendations that can help improve decision-making. The analyst keeps track of his progress through an organization that has a formal education process called a "training path." That training path includes classroom lessons, hands-on experience, and tests and exams.

Why do you need a business intelligence analyst?

As mentioned earlier, there are three main reasons why having a BIAnalyst is vital to any business. Here are some examples of situations where you might benefit from having one:

1. Improving your decision-making capacity

2. Helping you get accurate results

3. Saving time and resources

Let's take a closer look at each reason.

Improving your decision-making capability

Decision-making involves analyzing and interpreting complex information and data. If you lack a solid understanding of basic statistics and probability, you won't be able to plan, manage, control effectively, and measure results. Having a BIAnalyst on staff ensures that you have access to highly skilled professionals who can advise you on the best ways to find answers and solve problems. This person is usually hired and another position like a project manager or marketing director.

Helping you get accurate results

The first step in most businesses is gathering information about products, markets, customers, competitors, suppliers, etc. To accomplish this, they hire market research analysts to survey their target audience to understand better how they think. These analysts ask questions and record responses to determine if the product or service being offered is meeting customer expectations. They typically gather information via phone surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, observations, and analysis of past reviews.

Saving time and resource

Data collection and management tasks consume a lot of human and financial labor. However, by outsourcing these activities, you will free up many hours of work that could otherwise be used to build your company. For example, consider all of the administrative time for managing data. According to Gartner, companies spend $80 billion annually just keeping track of all the different pieces of data.

 The future of business intelligence

Business Intelligence is important because it helps organizations succeed in today's competitive environment. Business intelligence is quickly becoming necessary for every modern enterprise, especially as more and more companies use technology to increase productivity and streamline processes.

In fact, according to Forbes, the number of people working with business intelligence is expected to grow dramatically over the next seven years. By 2020, this growth rate is projected to reach nearly 200%! Given the importance of this field, it's no surprise that so many new jobs are being created. In fact, in May 2019 alone, there were more than 4,100 job openings in the U.S. related to business intelligence.

How to go about integrating Business intelligence

As you may have noticed, business intelligence has become an essential part of a successful organization. But what exactly does this term mean? How do you know which type of BI system would be suitable for your business? When selecting a BI solution, make sure to choose the right tool based on your needs. Below we've provided a list of features that help define a good BI platform.

Features

There are two types of business intelligence tools, reporting, and analytics. Reporting tools are designed to provide reports for your users. In contrast, analytics tools allow you to analyze your data using statistical methods to identify patterns, trends, risk factors, and other helpful information.

A report can contain tabular, graphical, and text information. It provides a quick snapshot of data from a source such as a database, spreadsheet, file, or server. Reports usually include charts, graphs, tables, and maps. You can also prepare customized reports that show specific information.

Analyses are performed using statistical methods to find patterns, trends, risks, opportunities, and other helpful information within large amounts of data. Analytics tools often come with built-in analytical functions and a variety of pre-built analytic models.

Data sources

BI platforms integrate data from various sources, including databases, files, spreadsheets, dashboards, services, web applications, and social media accounts. Some familiar data sources include:

‑ An ERP (enterprise resource planning) platform that stores sales orders, inventory, pricing, shipping, and product specifications.

‑ A CRM (customer relationship management) software package that allows marketing teams to communicate with customers and prospects.

‑ An accounting application that tracks finances from daily transactions to long-term investments.

‑ A content management system that enables your team to store documents, images, videos, websites, etc.

‑ Customer service systems that collect feedback about products and services.

‑ Social media platforms such as Facebook capture comments and reviews regarding your brand and its products.

Types of analytics

Once you've decided on the correct BI solution, several different types of analytics are available. The most popular include:

• Predictive analysis – This type of analytics determines future outcomes by analyzing past behavior. For example, if you see a pattern where people purchase particular items at certain times during the year, you can predict when they will repurchase them. You could use this sort of predictive analysis to decide whether to promote a special sale now or wait until later.
  

• Trending analysis – Trends are defined as predictable changes that happen over time. For example, if your company sells mainly coffee beans but suddenly finds itself selling tea instead, then you might want to review why this happened. Perhaps the price of coffee beans was higher than usual recently, so your team began buying more tea. If tea prices drop shortly, maybe you should start promoting coffee again.
  

• Value analysis - This type of analysis looks at trends and evaluates how they affect profit. For instance, if you see increasing demand for a particular item, but it costs too much to produce, then you may not be able to keep up with the increased demand. In this case, you need to figure out what you can do to lower production costs.

There is no doubt how business intelligence will make your business thrive into a productive one. Do you know the benefits of using business intelligence? Read on!

Benefits of business intelligence

1. Business Intelligence helps in decision making

BI provides relevant information to help executives answer essential questions about their day-to-day operations. By integrating and interpreting critical data, business intelligence enables organizations to make better decisions for growth and profitability. It makes sure that managers get all the necessary inputs to make important business decisions.

2. BI helps improve the efficiency level

Business intelligence empowers organizations with real-time data insights through interactive graphs, charts, maps, and other visualization tools. With these tools, users gain access to valuable data sets and perform analytics to extract actionable insights. Organizations using business intelligence can save enormous amounts of time and money by leveraging data from multiple sources.

3. BI increases productivity

Business intelligence improves the quality of work by providing accurate and timely reports to users. Furthermore, it reduces administrative overhead resulting in a greater focus on core activities.

4. BI offers improved customer service

Companies can view comprehensive details about customers and analyze customer activity with business intelligence technology. Hence, businesses can offer enhanced services and products based on user needs. Also, organizations can track product problems and identify potential areas for improvement.

5. BI delivers value to the bottom line

Most importantly, business intelligence enables businesses to increase revenue and reduce expenses. When salespeople can track specific behaviors and habits of prospective clients, they can reach out to them, build strong relationships, and ultimately earn additional business.

We have experienced professionals who take pride in giving world-class solutions to our clients. You are part of this community. Together, we can boost your business intelligence system, ensuring it delivers faster performance, increasing productivity for your organization. Book an appointment now!