In today’s data-driven business, it is important not only to collect information but also to analyze it effectively. Business intelligence (BI) systems help companies process large amounts of data, identify trends, predict results, and make informed decisions. However, to successfully implement a BI solution, it is necessary to consider many factors: from functionality and integration capabilities to scalability and cost. That is why many companies turn to professional data analytics services providers who help them select, adapt, and configure a BI system in accordance with their business goals.
What Are BI Systems, and How Do They Work?
BI systems are a set of programs and tools designed to collect and analyze information about a company. A BI system has practical value in the sense that it helps optimize work processes in order to achieve the most efficient distribution of resources, reduce costs, and increase profits.
For example, the purchasing department analyzes orders received from various divisions of the company and plans expenses in advance, creating reserves for the most important items. For the commercial department, a BI system makes it possible to compare the marginality of goods, based on which a sales strategy is built.
An enterprise’s business intelligence BI system uses information from various sources: working databases, web services, external archives, etc. Then the information is processed, patterns are identified, and conclusions are drawn, on the basis of which management decisions are made.
The activity of BI systems includes three basic processes:
- Collection of initial information. These are digital data that supply the BI system with various metrics, including CRM, ERP, etc.
- Processing and systematization. The algorithm is determined by the analyst, who can use individual filters or formulas, and the work with the data array itself is automated.
- Visualization. To make the analysis results obvious and understandable to employees, they are translated into a visual format (graphs, diagrams, and presentations are created).
- BI systems have flexible settings that allow you to create reports for various purposes. For example, it depends on who needed the analysis and for what purpose, for what period, and by what characteristics.
Why Implement a BI System?
A BI system can be tailored to the needs of any business, but in reality, not all companies turn to this tool. Most often, the initial factor for implementing a BI system at an enterprise is the following situations:
Reaching a level at which the volume of current data becomes very large.
Business metrics, that is, measurable indicators that reflect the activities of a commercial organization, are used everywhere. For example, you can’t do without financial indicators and information on product items. In small companies, the business owner himself often does the analytics: there is no need to resort to advanced tools, and Excel is often enough to process data. There, numerical values are entered into tables, and diagrams are created in the same program.
However, as the business develops, the data array increases: the product range expands, the customer base expands, new structural divisions appear, etc.
Suppose the number of table rows starts to be tens of thousands. In that case, Excel processes the data more and more slowly, and it becomes necessary to switch to a more robust platform that would ensure both speed and quality of analytics. One of the options for solving the problem is the implementation of a BI system.
The need to ensure data security.
This problem is becoming increasingly urgent now. For example, any company has a customer base that is valuable to competitors, not to mention information that constitutes a commercial secret. Having a single data system that is used by all employees of the organization allows you to restrict access to certain categories of information. To do this, users are ranked, and each receives a certain status, according to which he or she has the right to view certain data and make changes to it.
Intention to optimize business processes.
Before improving the organizational structure of the company and other major innovations, it is necessary to analyze the current procedures and evaluate them in terms of efficiency. BI systems help to see problem areas and bottlenecks that need optimization.
Advantages And Disadvantages of BI Systems
Of course, BI systems bring tangible benefits, and full-fledged strategic planning of a large company without them is difficult to implement. Among the advantages:
- Convenience of storing and processing information. BI systems can act as a single analytical center, where all information from different sources flows and is processed.
- Saving working time. After setup, the BI business intelligence system will operate automatically, and employees will be freed from the routine work of reconciling and consolidating numerical data.
- Reliability of information storage and elimination of misinformation. Any changes made are immediately reflected in BI, and the possibility of losing information, as happens with paper documents or files on a personal computer, is excluded. Instant synchronization allows you to get fresh results in any context (by products, departments, time periods, etc.).
- Access to reporting for identified users. A company manager or other employee with the right to view the summary information can request a report on a topic of interest and immediately receive this data.
Among the potential disadvantages:
- High cost of using a BI system. It should be taken into account that both capital expenditures (for implementing the system) and operational expenditures (for maintenance, and scaling) will be required. Therefore, a separate expense item for BI systems should be provided. Suppose such a task is quite feasible for a large corporation. In that case, it makes sense for small firms to consider alternative options in the data analytics field (simpler and more cost-effective report configurators).
- The complexity of working with the system. Since the BI system will be used not only by analysts but also by other employees, they will need special training in the capabilities of the system, the basics of working with the interface, etc. Therefore, it is recommended to compare several systems for ease of mastering already at the selection stage.
Conclusion
Selecting and implementing a BI system is an important step towards improving business efficiency. A well-chosen analytical solution allows data processing to be automated and turns it into valuable insights for strategic development. However, without experience and technical expertise, this process can be complex. Therefore, cooperation with experts offering services in the field of data analytics will help companies optimize the use of BI tools, minimize risks, and achieve maximum benefit from data analytics. If you want to cooperate with a reliable provider of data analytics services, we recommend paying attention to N-iX.
Stay in touch for more updates and news visit: Pedrovazpaulo!