To understand the importance of business intelligence, you need to delve a little into the essence of this concept. In fact, this technology allows you to collect, group and analyze strategic information for your business. The point is that there is usually a lot of data for collection and analysis. And the difficulty lies in the fact that they need to be collected and processed in streaming mode. That is why business intelligence services are becoming more and more popular.
The essence of technology
In fact, intelligent collection and processing of data helps you make informed decisions. Actions based on the experience and expertise of employees still give some margin of error. Technologies use self-adjusting mathematical models. This means that even at the beginning of work, the error will be minimal. And then the system will work better and better, analyzing the input data and comparing it with the results. Specialized IT companies offer ready-made intelligence business solutions. You can also order development from scratch.
What is included in the technology?
The most important tools for making informed decisions include:
- Collection of managed data;
- Sorting the collected data;
- Storing the collected information;
- Reports available by management level;
- Analytics and forecasting system;
- Comparison techniques;
- Templates for constructing tables and graphs;
- Screening of the current situation in real time.
In what areas can you use analytics for business?
Given that strategy is important in any business, it is rational to answer that analytics tools are important in all areas. Another issue is that in every business we work with different data. Also, this information comes from different sources and in different ways.
For example, in the credit and banking sector, it is extremely important to integrate the various calculators and tables with high quality. For effective management, it is necessary to compare tables for different periods, calculate the difference or amount, and so on. In the marketing department, a high-quality visual presentation of material is very important. This will require contrasting graphs, charts, and even widgets. This does not mean that numbers are not important. Marketers often present their research to sponsors or the board of directors. It is easier and faster to delve into new material precisely by receiving information in the form of graphics.
Moreover, one application can have a complex structured structure. For example, you can order various modules for finance, accounting, sales and advertising. Employees in each department will only have access to the functions they need.
A complex approach
Company management should not be based on disparate data. That is why we strongly recommend automating the entire business at once, and not individual departments. For example, you automatically collect and analyze PPC data. It helps a lot in brand promotion. But how to interpret this data in terms of accounting and taxes? If the financial sector is also automated, you will be able to compare all received data at any time. This way, you can evaluate the cost-effectiveness of marketing, not only in terms of the site’s position in the search engines and the number of new customers, but also in comparison with the marketing costs. You will also observe patterns of increase or decrease in costs and other dynamics.
Business analytics without technical support
The technologies we talked about above require high-quality development and technical support of the finished product. There are also simpler solutions. Typically, these are cloud applications and browser-embedded tools. They do not require updates or technical support. You should understand that such solutions have a narrower functionality. What type of analytics to choose depends only on the scale of the business and the ambition of the manager.