It’s well known that many businesses and organisations gather and store ever-larger amounts of data as technology gathers pace and data capture and storage methods develop. This data can potentially provide valuable intelligence as to a business’ marketplace, customer behaviour, marketing efficacy, financial position, production efficiency, stock inventory and much more. Business Intelligenceis the key to transforming raw data into actionable insights, helping companies streamline operations, identify trends, and drive growth. But how can you effectively utilise your data to improve business intelligence?
What is Business Intelligence and Why Does it Matter?
Business Intelligence involves collecting, analysing, and visualising data to support better decision-making. With BI tools like Power BI, businesses can gain real-time insights, uncover opportunities, and mitigate risks. By integrating data analytics, reporting, and dashboards, your business can transform complex datasets into clear, actionable insights that drive strategic planning.
However, your data can only serve you in providing valuable business information if it’s used effectively, providing you with sound business intelligence as part of your battery of data analytics services.
Top Tips for Using Data to Improve Business Intelligence
Define Clear Business objectives
Before diving into data analysis, you should first establish how this fits with your business goals. What KPIs will be relevant to your business? To find this out, see what your industry measures, consider what the cost centres are for your business, and what you need to know about sales and your customers. Setting these precise objectives and associated key metrics ensure that your business intelligence efforts align with your business’s priorities.
Utilise the right Data Visualisation Tools
Spreadsheets and static reports are outdated, often layered statically on PowerPoints we often see put together for board meetings. Consider what modern BI platforms suit your needs, Power BI, for example, can provide interactive dashboards and real-time analytics. Meaning you can spot patterns and trends quickly, present complicated data in a way that is easy to understand, and most importantly improved decision-making by allowing a quick deep-dive into the data via drill-throughs on interesting information.
Integrate Multiple Data Sources
To get a comprehensive view of your business, you need to see the full picture of your business. Often tools you already have will generate reports or provide dashboards, but this is information in silos. You’re not getting the clear picture. Imagine how much easier it is to make decisions when you can see data from your CRM, your website data, your financial data all together.
Leverage Predictive Analytics and AI
Often when we talk about Business Intelligence, we think about historical reporting, but why not include future forecasting trends? This can be done much more easily than ever before, using AI-powered Analytics. Businesses can now identify customer behaviour patterns, predict trends, and optimise inventory or supply chain decisions. Leaving this out of your roadmap might be missing that competitive edge for your business.
Foster a Data-Driven Culture
Data isn’t just for data analysts and data scientists, it should be integral for all departments of your business. Encourage a data-driven mindset within your business by providing training on how to interrogate data. Consider if your teams are making data-backed decisions, and if not, how can you evidence this is a more robust way to operate? And lastly, allow them self-serve access to BI tools so they can spot opportunities and foster innovation within your business.
How to leverage business intelligence within your business?
Establish a ‘data democracy’ policy
In the earlier days of BI marketers, financial personnel and production managers would ask the IT department to produce a report: this could sometimes take a while and the report itself often required deciphering by IT people equipped to interpret its findings.
Now though the advance in BI tool tech means almost anyone can view an easy to assimilate dashboard or pull up a report containing the BI they require from their desktop PC or even mobile device.
This way of ensuring BI can be easily put into the hands of those who need it but aren’t necessarily ‘tech savvy’ means knowledge is gained quickly, and fast and effective decisions can be made based on accurate, fresh intelligence.
Using professional data analytics services professionals to create an effective BI set up for you using the latest ‘user-friendly’ tools means easy to access data visualisation BI is possible.
Keep your BI flexible
Data gathering, storage, and analytics has evolved and will continue to do so, therefore, it’s vital you keep monitoring and refining your BI setup to ensure the most accurate and detailed information is informing your decisions.
Reviewing your arrangements regularly is key, and this includes basic data gathering to ensure you’re always gaining as much data as possible from your customers about your marketplace, marketing efforts, and more. A BI facility professionally set up by data analytics services experts can ensure that flexibility and future proofing are built in, coupled with ongoing support.
Partnering with a data analytics services professional
To ensure your BI facility is set up in the best way relative to your business requirements with the most appropriate BI tools, it’s advisable to enlist the services of experienced professionals who can create a BI set up appropriate to your business requirements. Not only will this give you an effective BI system for the present, but ongoing support means it can be altered and adapted as tech advances and your needs change.