In the data-driven world we live in today, being able to make sense of and derive insights from that data has become imperative to business success. One solution used by organisations of all sizes to analyse the large amounts of data at their disposal is Business Intelligence (BI) software.

What is BI?

If you interact with data in your business, then you’ve probably heard someone mention BI at some point. Unlike many of the corporate buzzwords thrown around today, Business Intelligence actually has some meaning to it. To clarify, BI is a set of software tools that enable you to transform your data into a state where you can derive insights from it. It enables you to easily analyse large data sets and turn it into something meaningful. With a BI solution on your side you’ll be positioned to meaningfully organise your data and manage it accordingly.

What is the purpose of BI?

The average employee makes over 35,000 decisions each day. You may not think so but most of our daily activities involve micro decisions. In order to ensure these decisions are informed, we need the right software tools. In the business world, we’re always striving to climb the DIKA pyramid as efficiently as we can to make effective decisions in a fast manner.

The pyramid models the relationship between Data, Information, Knowledge and Action. BI is the solution to help make this relationship possible. BI in business can help to achieve three key goals:

1. Increase Revenue

BI solutions provide numerous ways to improve your businesses operational efficiencies. But how exactly does it achieve this? The main way is by enabling you to derive information from otherwise useless data. This results in employees of all levels in your business being able to utilise data to make better informed decisions. This way all employees have the one “source of truth” to refer to and make decisions off. Key decision makers can have a universal understanding of the information available through one set of reports. BI will enable these people to discover, analyse and then transform data so it can provide benefits to teams across the business.

BI can also provide business leaders with a detailed view of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This enables thorough analysis of data and ensures appropriate action can then be taken. Effectively managing KPIs helps to ensure objectives of employees are aligned with those of the business.

2. Minimise Risk

The best way to predict the future is to look at the past. BI embraces this idea through the use of predictive analytics. By spotting patterns in the data, businesses will be armed to make the right decisions on the road to success. BI will also enable you to measure the right types of data that will help to minimise risk. Risk can be financial, operational and even strategic – regardless of the type of risk, BI can help to ensure you avoid it.

3. Reduce Costs

The return on investment for BI solutions is difficult to measure prior to it being implemented. However, the most tangible benefit is the reduction in labour costs. Time is a valuable resource, and this is something that companies will save plenty of through the automation of reporting procedures. There are plenty of cost reduction benefits that companies can take advantage of:

• Clean Data: clean data ensures businesses have accurate and relevant information to better allocate resources
• Automation: the automation of reports means less time on training and time spent generating monthly/weekly/daily reports.
• Less Reliance on IT: self-service BI means employees can identify insights in data quickly, without the help of the IT department.
• Data-driven decision making: By having easy access to structured data, employees are empowered to be more proactive and to make data-driven decisions.

Final Thoughts

To effectively make the relationship between Data, Information, Knowledge and Action a reality, companies need BI. BI helps organisations of all shapes and sizes to derive insights from their data and make better informed decisions. BI tools are intuitive to use which means businesses can empower all employees to utilise data in their day to day activities and help move the business in the direction it wants to go.