Business Intelligence
In this article we will describe you the Purpose of business intelligence its benefits application and data sources.
Business Intelligence or Business Intelligence is a set of practices that aim to provide relevant data and information for the efficient management of a company. Therefore, it encompasses processes that range from the collection and organization of data on certain subjects to its analysis and dissemination.
In the era we live in, in which the amount of available information grows exponentially, the main challenge for companies is to be able to take advantage, amidst the informational chaos, that can truly impact their business.
In this sense, BI performs this role and counts on the help of technology to enhance processes and leverage strategic planning .
Before reading about the purpose of business intelligence , look at the 3 pillars of it in detail.
The 3 pillars of Business Intelligence
We can divide the BI process into three pillars , which support its practical application in the daily life of companies.
1. Data collection
Especially in the times we live in, there is no shortage of data that can help you understand and manage your business. Coming from a variety of sources, a structured system is needed that can capture them correctly.
If the data is flawed, outdated, or unreliable, so will the analysis and its conclusions. Therefore, one solution is to use secure BPMS tools , which can support this task by working with data integrated with business processes.
The systems can capture primary information , coming from the internal environment of the company – such as data on operations and employees – or secondary, which would be external:
- Consumer needs
- market trends
- Economic, political, cultural, legal and technological aspects
- News generated by the press or social media, among others.
2. Data organization and analysis
After collection, the system can store the data in an integrated way . Organizing the information in a structured, visual and clear way is important to facilitate your analysis, avoiding errors.
Here it is important to have the help of graphs, dashboards, tables and other forms of graphical representation for a good visualization of the data.
Thus, for the application of BI in your organization, it is important that the tool used for business management (be it a BPMS, CRM , Service Desk or ERP) has a good analytics module that allows the extraction of the information generated. by executing business processes in different views.
3. Monitoring and control
With reports at hand, KPIs can be stipulated in the tools and monitored in real time, which can lead to conflicting data, malfunctions, or information that appears abnormal. Thus, decision-making and, consequently, the taking of measures will be fast and efficient.
To locate a delay in production, for example, the BI makes clear the information related to the process and the professional monitors and compares the data to detect bottlenecks and then solve them.
That is why it is so important that intelligence is associated with business process management (BPM) through a BPMS. In this way, it is possible to manage the business from start to finish, in an agile, precise and well-founded way. The BI solution will transform process information into strategies, leading to process improvements.
What are its benefits?
Information has become one of the most important assets for the success of companies. However, it is not the one that has more data that stands out, but the one that has the right information, organized, analyzed and transformed into business knowledge.
In this sense, BI provides numerous benefits in all sectors of the company, such as HR , sales and marketing. But there are some points that are the most relevant among these advantages, as we will see below.
1-Deeper and broader understanding of the business
What level of knowledge do you have about your business? Do you know who your customers are, what products and services they like best, what they believe can be improved, what your competitors are better at?
BI is able to answer these and many other questions based on hard data obtained through in-depth and accurate analysis of internal and external information.
In this sense, for everything that, in past decades, it was necessary to rely on the good intuition of entrepreneurs and managers, it can now be available to everyone at any time.
2-Basis for strategic decision making
What defines whether a company will be successful in the market or not are the decisions it makes along the way. This applies from the smallest and simplest, such as what will be the color of the packaging of a particular product, to the largest and most complex, such as what is the best time to offer a new product.
The decision-making is one of the most critical moments in the management of any business because it involves choosing a path that may be irreversible. In this sense, BI contributes so that definitions are made based on concrete and secure information, in addition to allowing a more reliable forecast of scenarios.
3-Constant growth and innovation in the company
From the moment there is a deep and broad understanding of the business and the decisions taken begin to bring good results, the consequence is the constant development of the business, both in terms of expanding market presence and in the quality perceived by customers.
Business Intelligence is based on the continuous analysis of data in search of points to be corrected, improvements to be implemented and opportunities for new products and services to offer. All of this in advance, putting yourself ahead of the competition.
More Benefits
There are many benefits to using Business Intelligence and the main ones are:
- Better company knowledge.
- Making more assertive decisions supported by concrete evidence.
- Greater agility in accessing and sharing important data
- Real-time analytics.
- Better management of business resources.
- Reduction in the frequency of problems.
- Indicates sales opportunities
- Provides key customer and audience insights to create a more targeted experience
However, for all these benefits to be taken advantage of, it is necessary that the data analysis be done according to the expectations and objectives of the implementation of business intelligence . Therefore, it is essential to have well-defined goals and to know how to identify critical points that can be adjusted using business intelligence .
What are the Purposes of business intelligence
The main Purposes of business intelligence are:
1. Collect all possible data on customers
These data include:
– Number of people entering the store at different times of the day. This is done by an advanced people counter.
– Tour that they do inside the premises.
– Websites that they visit from their mobile phones through the Free Wi-fi provided by the store.
2. Analyze the collected data
A set of numbers is useless if they are not interpreted. Business intelligence technology, in its current state, provides automated solutions for this.
Thus, among other things, it can be known which are the busiest and least crowded days and times or which are the sectors of the store that go unnoticed in the eyes of customers.
3. Develop strategies to increase profits
With the tools provided by business intelligence and based on the data collected and its subsequent analysis and interpretation, it is intended to develop strategies to increase profits. It will be looked for:
– Increase the percentage of purchase , that is, seek that each person who enters the premises becomes a customer.
– Build customer loyalty . Get them to come back and become regular customers.
– Reduce expenses . Eliminate those actions and unnecessary issues that report losses to the business and do not provide any benefit that compensates them.
4. Allow constant control of the store manager
Under the premise that delegating tasks is important, but its supervision should never be abandoned, business intelligence gives the store manager the possibility of having in real time all the data they need to make the right decisions.
For example, through the Store Managers app , developed by Intelligenxia, it is possible to know in real time issues such as traffic, conversion rate and others Relevant KPI‘s.
How to make and apply BI in the company?
The application of BI is carried out in a few steps, very simple to understand, despite requiring highly competent professionals to be executed. Follow up!
1-Data collection and organization
The first step of BI is to obtain the data to be used by the company. The big point of attention right now is that there is an ocean of information available, but just a few liters of this “water” will be interesting for the business. So the challenge is to know what to collect to avoid wasting time and effort.
Then the collected data needs to be stored in an organized way to be easily accessed. Imagine receiving a container of materials to manufacture your products and not having any criteria for putting them in stock:
- how will they be found later?
- how to know which are the newest and the oldest?
- how to know the origin of each item?
This is also the case with information, which needs to be properly organized.
2-Data analysis
This is the most critical and important part of BI: data analysis. It is at this moment that the data collected in internal and external bases are transformed into strategic information and knowledge for the business.
But data analysis can be done in different ways and using different tools. Here, the quality will depend much more on the competence of the professionals who carry out this process, as they will define which data can be crossed in each situation and how to interpret each result obtained.
3-Information sharing
Finally, all this knowledge generated needs to be shared for use by managers and other professionals. Although it seems simple, this step requires some care. The first one is to ensure that the analyzes provide information in a clear and objective way, in order to facilitate its use.
Another important point is to guarantee the accessibility and, at the same time, the confidentiality of the information. In this regard, it is important to have management tools that are easy to use and with access control features.
