In a nutshell, Business Intelligence (BI) is a means of collecting, analysing, and presenting data to support informed decision-making. This helps businesses make better decisions by providing insights into key performance indicators (KPIs) such as sales and financial performance.
By using BI you can identify trends, opportunities, and potential issues, and use this information to drive growth and improve performance. This includes data mining, data warehousing, reporting, and dashboards.
How does it work?
Data comes from a variety of sources, such as databases and analytics which can be used to create reports and dashboards along with visuals that provide insights to the business.
This typically involves the following steps:
- Collecting Data – gathering data from various sources, including internal databases, external data providers, and third-party applications.
- Integration – the data collected from different sources is combined and processed to create a complete view of the company’s data.
- Data analysis – this is analysed using a variety of ways to uncover patterns, trends, and insights.
- Visualisation – the insights gained from the data analysis are presented in a visual format, such as graphs, charts, and dashboards, to make it easier to understand.
- Reporting – this will provide a comprehensive overview of the company’s performance highlighting key metrics and KPIs.
The best way to use Business Intelligence
We have talked briefly about what BI encompasses and how it works in practice. The below will go over how it can be applied.
Performance monitoring: BI is used to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and track progress towards business goals. This allows organisations to identify areas where they are excelling and areas that need improvement.
Decision-making: BI helps businesses make data-driven decisions by providing insights into market trends, customer behaviour, and other important factors that can influence business outcomes.
Forecasting: BI can be used to predict future trends based on historical data. This helps organisations plan for the future and make informed decisions about resource allocation and strategy.
Data visualisation: BI tools often include data visualisation features that make it easy to understand and interpret complex data sets. This can help businesses identify patterns and trends that might not be apparent through raw data.
To summarise, BI is a powerful tool for companies to use analyse and interpret data. Here are some of the benefits:
- Improved decision-making
- Increased efficiency
- Better customer satisfaction
- Competitive advantage
- Cost savings
Utilising BI will help keep you competitive and make data-driven decisions that lead to improved performance and profitability.
If you’re interested in Business Intelligence and want to learn more, get in touch with us today.
