Business Intelligence (BI) tools are software that analyses and visualizes various data held by companies and is useful for management and business. BI means business intelligence, that is, information related to business decision making.
Table of content
• Introduction
• What is business intelligence?
• Purpose and role of BI tools
• Areas where BI tools are used
• Benefits and points to keep in mind with BI tools
• Comparison of the three mechanisms and functions of BI tools
• Top BI tools in 2021
• Conclusion
Introduction
As the use of big data by companies is expanding and the movement to use it for management is increasing, it is indispensable to utilize a tool called BI tool in order to make quick and accurate decision-making using data. In
big data analysis, the share of BI tools is increasing dramatically.
Therefore, on this page, we will explain from the basics to the mechanism of BI tools (business intelligence tools) in an easy-to-understand manner, and also introduce the functions and usage scenes that you should know before choosing a BI tool.
What is business intelligence?
BI means business intelligence, that is, information related to business decision making. The value of BI is that it provides insights that can be put into action from a variety of data. BI uses IT to collect and analyse data, and the results are expressed in the form of reports in graphs and charts in an easy-to-understand manner.
BI provides executives, managers, and field employees with information that can improve their products, services, and operations.
However, the data that is accumulated daily in corporate activities is so huge that it is often called big data, and it is often stored in different places or in separate systems. If analysed with a general spreadsheet tool, it can lead to inaccuracies, and the need for professionals with data analysis knowledge.
In the face of such problems, BI tools were born to make the acquisition of valuable BI more efficient and to support the decision-making of business people.
Purpose and role of BI tools
The purpose and role of BI tools is to extract necessary information from a huge amount of data, analysed and report it in order to utilize it for management and sales expansion, and it is meaningful that it can be used by anyone.
It is a very convenient tool because you don't have to manually add up each time in Excel. When you come up with something you want to know, it would be great if you could quickly aggregate the data and display the analysis results.
Areas where BI tools are used
BI tools that can analyse your business from big data and lead to improvement are already used in various areas of business.
So where are BI tools used? Introducing the main ones.
• Business analysis / financial analysis
BI tools can analyse the management itself, which is the basis of business. By introducing BI tools, it is possible to grasp management analysis results such as sales information and financial status in a timely manner and make swift management decisions.
• Sales analysis
A sales department is indispensable to a company as it directly generates profits. Even sales positions that tend to be personalized can be linked to the creation of better sales and the construction of an organizational structure by accumulating and analysing data with BI tools.
• Personnel data analysis
Data-driven decision-making is also important for personnel-related operations. BI tools help you make decisions based on data and statistics, even for new personnel issues associated with the introduction of remote work and job-based employment.
• Overtime analysis
BI tools can be used to integrate data from different systems and files for multifaceted analysis.
• Budget management system
With BI tools, you can build a budget management system that allows you to view the latest forecast data at any time.
• Data aggregation
With BI tools, you can build data aggregation tools that streamline aggregation operations. There are also BI tools that allow you to use Excel files as they are.
With BI tools, you can build a budget management system that allows you to view the latest forecast data at any time.
Benefits and points to keep in mind with BI tools
BI tools are tools that help you make faster and more accurate decisions by leveraging all the data you collect, both inside and outside the company. Not only can you grasp the situation accurately, but you can also dig deeper into the various causes, problems, and issues behind it.
By introducing this BI tool and utilizing the data scattered throughout the company, you can obtain great benefits and effects in corporate management, but on the other hand, you may often hear stories of installation failures and need to be aware of them when introducing them.
Comparison of the three mechanisms and functions of BI tools
BI tools are useful IT tools not only for business owners but also for department leaders and general employees. This BI tool is roughly divided into the following three mechanisms.
• Mechanism for linking data from a core system
First, BI tools use existing data, so they need to work with the in-house “core system”. If you want to analyze sales data with BI tools, you have to bring the data from one of the core systems, the "sales / inventory management system". In this way, BI tools are indispensable for a mechanism that works with mission-critical systems.
• Mechanism for analysis and aggregation
Once you bring the data from the mission-critical system, it's finally time for BI tools to show their true potential. It is a mechanism that mainly collects, analyses, and aggregates data.
• Mechanism to visualize and display
BI tools also need a mechanism to arrange the results of data analysis and visualize them in graphs. If you give your boss a table with Excel numbers, it's just as confusing and unfinished. It is necessary to report it so that it is easy to see, such as by graphing it properly. Similarly, BI tools need a mechanism to visualize the results analysed and aggregated in an easy-to-understand manner.
Top BI tools in 2021
• Chartio
• Dundas BI
• Clear analytics
• Looker
• Microsoft power BI
• Tableau
• MicroStrategy
• Qlik Sense
• Sisence
Conclusion
The benefits of business intelligence solution to businesses cannot be understated. BI helps analyses data and help with making informed decisions. The decisions can lead to increased profitability. You should meet with a top business intelligence solution agency such as HData System to assist you with an excellent solution.
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Harnil Oza is a CEO of HData Systems - Data Science Company & Hyperlink InfoSystem a top mobile app development company in Canada, USA, UK, and India having a team of best app developers who deliver best mobile solutions mainly on Android and iOS platform and also listed as one of the top app development companies by leading research platform.