What is business intelligence (BI)?
Business intelligence (BI) corresponds to all the technologies, tools and methodologies used to collect, store, analyze and provide strategic information. This strategic information allows business leaders to have more reliable data. BI helps improve the quality and speed of decision-making by providing a clear, up-to-date view of key business data.
How to use Business Intelligence?
Business intelligence often uses data visualization tools to graphically represent data in different forms (dashboards, charts, etc.), making it easier for users and business leaders to understand. It also uses advanced data analysis algorithms that can extract key insights hidden in the data and highlight trends and patterns that might otherwise be difficult to spot.
BI is used in many different areas, such as finance, sales, supply chain management, human resource management, and production management. It is also used by governments and non-profit organizations to make strategic decisions and improve efficiency.
Implement BI in your company
When a company wants to implement business intelligence in its company, different steps are necessary in order to obtain optimal results.
The objectives
Before implementing BI it is necessary to establish objectives regarding the use of business intelligence. It is important to clearly determine the objectives of BI and ensure that they correlate with the strategic objectives of the company.
Data sources
Before setting up BI, you must first identify all the data sources that could be useful for BI. Data sources can be internal or external such as internal databases, public data and data from business partners.
Data collection
Data must be collected and prepared in a way that is usable for analysis, it is important to select key data to make it easier to sort and read. This may include data cleansing and normalization, as well as integrating data from different sources.
The choice of tools
Each company must choose the business intelligence tools that best meet its needs. Consideration should be given to BI objectives, data sources and desired analysis methodologies.
Implementation of BI
The BI solution must be implemented and configured in a way that it is accessible to users and integrates business data and processes.
Training
An important step is training users in the use of BI tools and the interpretation of analysis results. Taking the time to train employees will help obtain optimal results from everyone.
Dissemination of results
Once the BI solution is in place and employees are trained, data analysis must be implemented and distributed. This analysis will help guide the company in its strategy, the results are shared with the company’s decision-makers in order to improve decision-making.