In today’s fast-paced, high-technology world, business intelligence or BI is a phrase that’s often tossed around. Here’s a closer look at BI and its business intelligence tools.
Defining BI
BI refers to the “procedural and technical infrastructure” that gathers, stores and analyzes the data a company produces. Businesses can create easy-to-use and -read reports from this data, allowing their owners and managers to make decisions based on results rather than misinformation, perceptions or hunches.
BI Tools and Solutions
Business intelligence tools can help companies pinpoint advantages and opportunities, and guide their risk assessment processes and procedures. The following tools and solutions are a vital part of today’s BI landscape:
- Data Reporting and Analytics: For most humans, visualization is a key component of understanding data. For this reason, BI tools allow companies to organize and present their data in the ways that best meet their needs. Data reporting and analytics tools allow key players to customize, schedule, and share reports. They can also set up to create alerts to help ensure business goals stay on track.
- Data Warehouse Automation: This business intelligence solution enables companies to create a well-planned and –documented central data warehouse. Once in place, it removes the need for manual labor and automates those daily tasks that consume employees’ time and attention.
- Big Data: Today’s business intelligence tools and solutions also allow you to access large data sets that computers can analyze to reveal trends and patterns, especially those tied to your customer base. Big Data tools or solutions allow you to go beyond the humble spreadsheet or database and bring together all your data to inform your business decisions.
- Self-Service Data Analysis: As a business professional, you know the value of up-to-date data for a meeting or a business decision or deal. Self-service data analysis allows you and your business managers to run custom reports within a matter of minutes, pinpointing the exact information you need to make the right decision or take the correct action.
The Future of BI
Experts expect BI tools and solutions to incorporate natural language processing as a mainstream feature. Technologies such as Amazon’s Alexa are examples of this technology, also known as “conversational analytics.” Experts also predict that Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will become commercial technologies.
BI and You
As you can see, BI is here to stay. With its tools and solutions tied to emerging technologies, you can expect it to be a vital part of your professional life.
