Business intelligence misconceptions have undercut many businesses’ attempts to deploy self-service analytics and their ability and willingness to use data in crucial decision intelligence.
Business intelligence (BI) and analytics tools have long held out the prospect of a time when data can be quickly accessed and turned into knowledge and insights that can be used to make decisions that are both timely and accurate. That future has not yet materialized for the majority, though. Employees rely heavily on technical teams to comprehend data and derive insights from dashboards and reports, from the C-team to the frontline.
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The limitations of current BI tools, in the majority of use cases, are what prevent analytical forecasting from being accessible. Several myths that are widely believed to be “truths” have been sustained by these limitations.
Many businesses’ efforts to implement self-service analytics as well as their capacity and willingness to use data in critical decision intelligence have been hampered by such misconceptions.
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Here are a few myths about business intelligence that need to be debunked:
Myth: BI is only for large organizations
Fact: The development of corporate strategies and the adoption of a data-driven approach to decision-making are not exclusive to large organizations. Until recently, implementing BI tools required a large team of highly skilled data analysts and IT professionals. Today, however, technological advancements and cloud services have made it simple to subscribe to the service based on business needs. SMEs can easily upgrade to an enterprise-grade BI platform thanks to fully hosted solutions.
Businesses at all levels can benefit from using business intelligence to comprehend current data and emerging trends. For improved customer retention rates, higher revenues, and higher levels of customer satisfaction, BI plays a crucial role in understanding customer behavior, predicting customer demand, and influencing customer behavior.
Myth: BI is too complex
Fact: To gain profitable insights from company data, it is not always necessary to consult an IT specialist
BI used to seem like a very difficult process to implement, to use complex analytics, to mine data, to price, and more. Today, however, with cloud computing capabilities and agile BI solutions, all required data is presented in a straightforward, easily-digestible format.
Although having a technical background is advantageous, there are many BI tools available that are user-oriented and non-technical, so they don’t need a qualified IT staff. These tools provide thorough self-service capabilities that let users independently query data, produce analyses, assessments, visualizations, interactive reports, and presentations, as well as gain valuable insights from business data.
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Myth: Excel is sufficient
Fact: A spreadsheet doesn’t provide intelligence; it provides historical data
A spreadsheet (Excel) is a powerful but ineffective tool for managing large datasets, business requirements involving data collection, reporting, and analysis. The BI tool, on the other hand, provides impressive data compression, enables data connection with a source like SAP or SQL server, is able to collect data from multiple real-time data sources and provide automated reporting, has quick visualization capabilities, and offers improved security.
Myth: The only way to store data is in a data warehouse
Fact: A data warehouse is a repository of data that is used by business intelligence tool to enable data analysis and reporting
A data warehouse is a type of storage architecture made to house old business data from various sources. Data warehouses, which serve as a data source and are created to store and consolidate data from various sources to support decision-making, are used in business intelligence.
Despite being essential for data storage, data warehouses are not the only source or technology that can be used. Before they require a data warehouse, many organizations first go through a data storage hierarchy.
Myth: BI is too costly
Fact: With the advancement in technology, cost have gone down with improved functionality
Many people have the misconception that BI requires substantial financial resources and goes far beyond their needs. As a result, they continue to use manual processes or completely ignore BI. However, if used properly, an investment in a BI tool can result in a sizeable return on investment. Building a BI strategy, receiving automated reports, viewing quick visualization, creating forecasts, and providing actionable insights allow firms to make data-driven decisions and meet customer needs, making the investment wholly justified. What was once a complicated tool that could only be operated by a specialist with specialized hardware has been streamlined and promoted as a desktop tool for non-techies as well.
Business intelligence is essential for any organization’s development. Without a thorough understanding of it, though, businesses will lag behind their rivals who are using the BI tool to analyze data and use the results to plan every move in their business operations. Any company that wants to grow must have business intelligence in order to succeed. Businesses can easily use business intelligence to grow exponentially if they have the right BI tool.
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