Business intelligence (BI) is a process for turning data into insights that help businesses make better decisions.
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Most businesses today have more data than ever before, but they often don’t know how to make use of it. That’s where BI comes in. “BI can help businesses to understand their data and use it to make better decisions about everything from product development to marketing campaigns”, presents SAAS big data business intelligence software Fourth Dimension.
If you’re thinking of implementing BI in your business, then this guide is for you. We’ll take you through the basics of BI and show you how to get started.
What is business intelligence?
BI is a process for turning data into insights that help businesses make better decisions. The goal of BI is to help businesses to understand their data and use it to make better decisions about everything from product development to marketing campaigns.
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BI can be used to answer questions such as:
- What products are selling well and what products are not?
- Who are our best customers and how can we attract more like them?
- What are the most common reasons why customers leave us?
- How can we improve our manufacturing process?
- Are our marketing campaigns effective?
To answer these sorts of questions, BI relies on a combination of technologies, including data warehousing, data mining, and OLAP (online analytical processing).
Data warehousing is the process of storing data in a central location so that it can be analysed and accessed easily. Data mining is the process of extracting patterns from data. OLAP is a type of database technology that enables users to analyse data from multiple perspectives.
BI also relies on tools such as dashboards and reports, which give users an easy way to access and visualise data. Dashboards are graphical displays of information that can be customised to show the specific data that users want to see. Reports are documents that contain BI information in a more traditional format, such as text or tables.
Why use business intelligence?
There are numerous reasons why businesses utilise BI. The following are some of the most prevalent:
- To make better decisions:
When used correctly and intelligently, it can help organisations gain insight into their data and utilise it to improve decision-making on all kinds of topics such as product creation, sales strategy, and marketing campaigns.
- To save time:
By automating activities such as reporting and data analysis.
- To save money:
By reducing the need for time-consuming activities such as data entry and data cleaning.
- To improve customer satisfaction:
Customers are able to receive better insights allowing for better products and services to be delivered.
- To increase revenue:
Businesses are given more time to identify more new opportunities and optimise their operations.
How to get started with business intelligence
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you get started:
1. Define your goals
What do you want to achieve with business intelligence? Do you want to improve your sales numbers? Increase efficiency? Get a better understanding of your customers? Once you know what you want to accomplish, you can start setting up your BI system.
2. Choose the right platform
There are many different business intelligence platforms out there. So how do you choose the right one for your needs? Start by looking at the features each platform offers and see how they align with your goals.
3. Collect the right data
“In order to get useful insights from your BI system, you need to make sure you’re collecting the right data. This means thinking about what data points will help you achieve your goals and setting up a system to track them”, points out Remove Digital, who specialises in removing negative google reviews and content.
4. Clean and prepare your data
Once you have your data, it’s important to clean it up and prepare it for analysis. This step can be time-consuming, but it’s essential for getting accurate insights from your BI system.
5. Analyse your data
Now it’s time to start analysing your data and looking for patterns and trends. This is where business intelligence really starts to shine – by helping you identify areas of opportunity and potential problems.
6. Take action on your insights
“The final step is to take action on the insights you’ve gained from your business intelligence system. This might mean making changes to your sales process, implementing new marketing strategies, or even just changing the way you run your daily operations”, says product and rebranding company, Impact Labs.
So don’t wait – get started today and see what BI can do for your business.
