Business Intelligence systems - what are they?

Business Intelligence (BI) systems are advanced technologies and tools that help companies collect, analyse and transform business data into valuable information. Their primary purpose is to improve decision-making by providing reliable and timely data.

Companies use BI systems in various ways to gain a competitive advantage in the market. First and foremost, they allow data to be collected from multiple sources, such as databases, Excel files, or CRM systems, and then integrated into one place. This enables managers and employees in different departments to analyse data in real-time, allowing them to react quickly to changing market conditions.

In addition, BI systems enable the creation of advanced reports and summaries that help identify trends, forecast financial performance, and monitor the effectiveness of ongoing activities. By analysing data using Business Intelligence systems, companies can make more informed business decisions, which translates into increased operational efficiency and company profits.

What BI systems are available on the market?

Several popular Business Intelligence (BI) systems on the market help companies analyse data and make informed decisions. Among them, it is worth mentioning:

1. Power BI: Power BI is a business intelligence tool developed by Microsoft. It allows users to combine data from different sources, create interactive reports and charts, and share them online. With a simple interface, users can transform their data into clear visualisations, making it easier to understand trends and analyse data in real-time.

2. Microsoft Fabric: Microsoft Fabric combines various Microsoft services into one comprehensive tool under one umbrella. The platform offers a complete suite of services, including data lake, engineering, and data integration, to streamline analysis and report preparation in every department of an organisation.

3. Tableau: Tableau is a BI tool that enables interactive data analysis and the creation of advanced visualisations. With an intuitive interface, users can easily explore data, drag and drop elements into interactive reports, and create interactive dashboards. Tableau offers advanced analytics features, including competitive advantage analysis, forecasting, and statistics.

4. QlikView/Qlik Sense: QlikView and Qlik Sense are Qlik products that enable real-time data analysis. QlikView allows the creation of interactive dashboards, while Qlik Sense is more focused on self-service data analysis. Both tools will enable you to explore data and discover hidden patterns.

5. IBM Cognos Analytics: Cognos Analytics is a BI platform developed by IBM. It enables you to create reports, analyse data, build dashboards, and perform advanced predictive analytics. The platform also allows integration with other IBM tools and data from various sources.

6. SAP BusinessObjects: SAP BusinessObjects is a comprehensive BI tool that enables you to create reports, analyse data, and monitor business performance. This platform also offers advanced features such as workflow analysis, market trend prediction, and integration with data from various sources.

Each BI system has unique features and benefits, allowing companies to choose the tool that best suits their business needs and the level of data analysis sophistication they require. However, the market leader has consistently been Power BI for several years, as confirmed by the Gartner Magic Quadrant study results.

Constant access to data with Microsoft Power BI

Power BI is a complete set of analytical tools that support the functioning of an organisation in many areas - from sales through customer service to finance and employee management. The built-in system provides the company with an uninterrupted view of business data from a single dashboard, which in turn allows for consistent data analysis and reduces time and costs associated with reporting. All data is collected around the clock - on computers and mobile devices, which provides access to it anywhere and anytime. 

Displaying and managing data through the interface also ensures high usability. The team members can analyse precisely the data they need at a given moment without the need to make inquiries to other teams. This allows them to make their own decisions - faster and better.

Drawing conclusions

Business Intelligence tools are used to integrate data to make it more efficient:

• discovering important data,
• to find correlations between the processes,
• understanding these events and concluding.

Data discovery is a process in which unknown or unusual patterns are captured with just a few clicks. Intelligent BI solutions, including Power BI, can recognise and group pre-arrange data. The collections created in this way are then searched to catch the connection. Predictive mechanisms also play an essential role in this, facilitating real-time trend tracking. For example, we can trace the relationship between product or service prices and demand. Such knowledge facilitates business decisions.

Most of the operations are done automatically or using the drag and drop function, which means ease of use for the average business user. 

Automatic reporting 

Automated analytics allow BI system users to quickly analyse data, create their reports and modify existing ones without training. This is particularly important in the case of large organisations where many reports are prepared.

Advanced Power BI tools allow you to visualise data in an attractive way - thanks to the option of simple report creation and the ability to publish them in the service quickly. Report recipients can easily browse the reports, but also modify them by adding their calculation functions. The high flexibility of the system translates into significant time and energy savings for employees.

Enhanced data analytics

Augmented analytics is one of the leading trends in data analysis. It offers automation of data analysis by using machine learning and natural processing. As a result, it solves the problem of generating knowledge from data, present in many organisations. How? Automated algorithms process data and capture recurring patterns from it. This reduces the risk of missing valuable information while increasing the accuracy of business decisions. 

Decision support

Business intelligence systems play a vital role in companies' decision-making processes. Companies gain a complete picture by analysing data – including in real-time and generating reports. This enables managers and other decision-makers to make more informed and accurate business decisions. They are supported not only by facts and figures but also by intuition and experience, resulting in more effective resource management and growth strategy.

Monitoring business performance

In addition, business intelligence systems enable continuous monitoring of company performance at various levels. This allows the company to react quickly to changes and adjust its strategy based on current information. Analysing the data makes it possible to identify areas where business performance can be improved and detect potential threats or opportunities for the company. Real-time analytics allows you to respond immediately to market changes and maintain a competitive position in the market.

Integrated data management

Implementing a business intelligence system allows the integration of data from different sources. This eliminates the need for multiple tools and platforms and facilitates data management within the company while ensuring consistency of information and eliminating the risk of errors arising from outdated data. Integrated data management, in turn, ultimately translates into more efficient teams and better use of available resources.

Personalisation of reports and mobile accessibility

With the help of business intelligence systems, it is also possible to personalise reports, allowing users to tailor information to individual needs. In addition, accessibility from smartphones to business data enables employees to use the information even when they are out of the office, which increases mobility and work flexibility. This is particularly important in today's business environment, where mobility is critical for businesses to operate effectively.

In summary, business intelligence systems offer data analysis tools and complete functions to support effective business management, accurate decision-making, and adaptation to dynamic market changes.

Implementation of Business Intelligence class systems, such as Microsoft Power BI, should be supported by an analysis of the organisation's situation. We invite you to contact EBIS specialists - after getting acquainted with the exact needs of your company, we will choose the optimal analytical solutions for it!