A concept that has recently been drawing the attention of business leaders is business intelligence. To provide an example of this kind of analysis, let’s take a look at the work processes of a doctor.
The word “diagnosis” normally is used in medical vocabulary. When a patient goes to a doctor’s office complaining of pain, he or she gives this professional some information. The doctor, in turn, may ask for clinical exams which will provide even more information. After this, the professional interprets the data and arrives at a conclusion to resolve the patient’s problem.
Can you imagine what it would be like if your business could use an information analysis process with this quality and organization? This is what business intelligence has to offer your company: a precise diagnosis.
What is Business Intelligence?
Your company’s processes can be optimized, which will generate savings and improve quality as well as productivity, but to do this it’s important to have access to the data that they generate.
It’s not very efficient to talk about “improving processes” when you don’t know what needs to be improved. To do this, the first step is to correctly analyze information related to your production activities and cross-reference this data with other analyses such as: the market and the cost of each process or even the impact that it has on the product’s final price. All of this is possible with Business Intelligence.
The language of entrepreneurship is written in numbers, and the most important thing is to understand them. Automating this task means that precise reports are always in the hands of business leaders, helping them make changes with a minimum chance of making a mistake.
How does it help your company?
Systems such as Business Intelligence can help different aspects in a company. Here we selected the main benefits of this tool. Learn about it!
Foreseeing trends
ERP software, which monitors a company’s processes, can offer a forecast of market trends. This is because this data is analyzed together with a collection of information, including market data.
That being so, your business can foresee, for example, the need to invest in the hiring of employees, because it already has information that includes a forecast of an increase in sales.
Create realistic targets
Market analysis which ignores internal factors will not deliver results for your company. In this scenario, a business leader will question why his or her business has had little growth if the sector has done well overall.
To help a company establish efficient targets, Business Intelligence presents reports that take into consideration your business’s real situation, giving the entrepreneur the chance to prepare the company for the current market scenario.
Take advantage of transparent data
Credibility attracts investors and ensures solidity for any company, but to establish this, it’s very important that the organization receives reliable data.
Business Intelligence, through its automated systems, considerably diminishes the risks of human error and fraud in the generation of information, giving it credibility in the eyes of decision makers and leading to a more reliable and prosperous company environment.
This information can ensure that subordinates will have confidence in their leaders’ judgment when faced with complex decisions, because these leaders will be able to convince them that these decisions are necessary.
What to consider when choosing Business Intelligence?
There are several Business Intelligence tools in the market, so it is crucial to know which one is the best. For this, we must consider some factors, which we will discuss below.
Agility
This type of tool needs to be agile when it comes to processing your company data, and thus, helping to define strategies. Without this capacity it will be very difficult to put the strategies into practice.
Cost-benefit
When looking for this type of tool, it is essential that it is in accordance with what the company can afford. However, understand that this does not mean hiring a service that is cheaper and has fewer functions. It is important to have a balance between the features offered and the price of the tool.
Usability
The user cannot have difficulties in using the tool; the system must be accessible so that no time is wasted when performing the functions. Of course, even in a simple system, the support from experts on the operation will still be needed.
What are the examples of Business Intelligence?
As there are different types of Business Intelligence in the market, we have chosen some examples for you to know. Check it out!
Google Data Studio
Developed by Google, Data Studio is a free tool that anyone with a Gmail account can access. Its user, beyond the system reach, can link it to other Google tools, such as Sheet and AdWords.
Its features include creating up to 5 reports with unrestricted editing or sharing, and quickly collecting and converting raw data into reports and dashboards.
Adobe Analytics
One of the great advantages of Adobe Analytics is that it provides the installation of all marketing channels, diagnostics and segmentations in real time. This entire process is rich in detail, and it is even possible to determine the target audience for the campaign.
It also offers a system designed for automation, so it is possible to create alerts at any time. In addition, it features basic functionality such as reporting, sharing by email and mobile devices.
Microsoft Power BI
The main highlight of this Business Intelligence system is its ability to quickly develop dashboards and reports. To get an idea, it is possible to generate one in five minutes.
In addition, it is a system that authorizes the connection with other tools, such as Excel, Google Analytics, Mailchimp, SharePoint, and even Facebook. Microsoft Power BI provides users with broad access to company metrics, as well as real-time updates and accessibility across devices such as PCs and smartphones.
Tableau
With the purpose of making data accessible, Tableau offers a system that values usability. As such, it is a tool compatible with sheets, Hadoop, SQL database and cloud.
However, despite all this compatibility, the main highlight is its VizQl system, a service that allows dragging and dropping any existing information into the reports or dashboards produced. Thus, the user can easily organize the information at any time. In addition, it offers an online platform that allows access to data from anywhere.
Why is it important to be careful with Business Intelligence?
While Business Intelligence is very useful in your company data organizations, you need to be very cautious about using this technology. Contrary to what many people say, BI cannot and should not be viewed as the only analytical technology available in organizations because, despite its efficiency, it can provide misleading data for decision making.
In this circumstance, a deep analysis of the data origin is essential before making decisions based on what the Business Intelligence presents. Information on costs, expenses, and their impact on processes, products, services, channels, and customers are good examples of information that is not available in organizations.
Therefore, they require special treatment by pre-modeling, that is, an efficient cost and result treatment is necessary in a system apart from BI, so that the analyzes are actually effective.
Thus, an efficient modeling has its own nuances and requires special treatment before generating reports and analyzes. After all, many of these documents may even contain untruthful information and jeopardize the opinion of managers at the time of decision making.
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