Business intelligence (BI) is a set of processes, technologies, and architectures that convert raw data into meaningful information. The entire purpose of BI is to facilitate better decision-making in businesses.
Although people use business intelligence and business analytics (BA) interchangeably, they differ a bit. BI prioritizes descriptive analysis while BA focuses on predictive analysis. Moreover, business analytics deals with data analysis, and it is all about predicting future trends based on the company’s decisions.
Business intelligence is a broad term that encompasses:
- Process analysis
- Data mining
- Business performance management
- Analytics
Why is Business Intelligence Important?
Overall, the goal of BI is to improve the operations within an organization with the help of relevant data. Therefore, data plays a critical role in BI.
Did you know that BI extends beyond decision-making?
Some of the benefits of business intelligence include the following:
- BI eliminates waste, fraud, and abuse
- Promotes efficiency in service delivery and production
- Enhances competitive advantage
- Speeds up the decision-making process
- Improves customer satisfaction
Business Intelligence Tools and Software
We composed a table of common types of business intelligence solutions:
| Tool/Software | Details |
| Spreadsheets | These tools can help you in the computation, organization, and analysis of data. They include Google Docs and MS Excel. |
| Data Mining | Such solutions can mine huge volumes of data for artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and statistical purposes. Some examples are TIBCO, SAS Visual Data Mining as ML, Apache Mahout, etc. |
| Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) | OLAP tools enable users to analyze data from multiple sources interactively. Common ones include Apache Kylin, interactive.io, IBM Cognos, MicroStrategy, icCube, etc. |
| Reporting Software | Reporting software can translate data from spreadsheets, SaaS tools, and databases for easy-to-understand purposes. Interestingly, the market offers SAP Crystal Reports, ClearPoint, Jaspersoft Reporting, Zoho Analytics, Microsoft Office Suite, Oracle Hyperion Interactive Reporting, and more. |
What is Trending in Business Intelligence?
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies
- Cloud analytics
- Mobile analytics
- Data Science as a niche
- Collaborative BI
- Embedded Data Stories
A Typical Example of BI Application in the Real-world
Assuming Peter owns a restaurant in New Jersey and wants to know how it performed last year, what can he do?
He needs to collect some statistics about the business. Peter cannot draw meaningful information by mere observation. It will be wrong to state that last year he received many customers. An ideal approach is to revisit the general operations data of the business.
Additionally, Peter can search the website stats and guest data. For instance, he can look for POS data, menu data, reservations, guest needs, and how many customers visited his website. That can help him to understand the performance of his business.
All these involve Business Intelligence! Remember, the BI environment comprises data, processes, people, and technology.
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Conclusion
Traditionally, people used manual techniques to study how their organizations operated. Gone are those days! Today, we have robust software solutions and technologies that can transform how we make decisions in business. The key players who use BI systems are:
- IT personnel
- Company heads (Directors, CEO, and Managers)
- Professional data analysts
- Business users
- Employees
What do you think about business intelligence? Do you keep business records or need any assistance from us? Effectively, we offer support in cloud computing, SEO writing, article writing, business writing, web optimization, and more services in Tech.
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