“By 2027, experts predict that the business intelligence market will be worth roughly USD 39.35 Bn.”
The pandemic ushered in a much-needed paradigm shift for organizations of all sizes; however, it also brought new challenges and opportunities that fundamentally reshaped the business landscape. And as the pandemic-induced reality sets in and causes further unexpected disruption, it’s crucial that businesses adjust to the new normal with data-driven approaches.
The widespread adoption of data-driven decision-making in organizational settings has spawned the development of novel approaches to providing and conducting business. That said, there has been a general increase in the adoption of technology-based initiatives like cloud, AI/ML, and Business Intelligence (BI) as industries look for quick and effective responses to the deteriorating economic climate.
Since success relies heavily on understanding the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the market, BI empowers businesses by keeping them informed. This article delves into the function of business intelligence and the possibilities it affords modern businesses as they try to adapt to the demands of the current market.
Understanding Business Intelligence
Business intelligence (or BI) refers to a collection of resources that help businesses conduct in-depth analyses of their data and derive useful conclusions and visual representations of their current state. Insights gleaned from BI-supported tools aid in the development of strategies and the making of sounder business decisions.
Today’s businesses are better able to weather the storms of the marketplace thanks to the incorporation of modern BI tools — which have opened up previously unimaginable avenues for growth and productivity.
However, realizing the importance of upgrading from legacy systems to cutting-edge BI solutions is essential if businesses are to take full advantage of the competitive advantage that BI provides. We take at look those in the following sections.
Understanding the Need to Move From Legacy to Modern BI
The core of any digital transformation is making well-informed decisions and figuring out how they affect their business. Legacy business intelligence solutions have stymied organizations from functioning to their full potential. Case in point: according to the findings of one study, companies that take a modern approach to BI significantly outperform their competitors.
Because organizations have not upgraded their legacy platforms yet and have not made investments in contemporary self-service analytics, they continue to use traditional business intelligence methods. By adopting a more comprehensive and up-to-date strategy, BI becomes a pivotal factor in propelling expansion by providing access to crucial data in a timely and contextualized manner.
With modern Business Intelligence tools in their arsenal, organizations are re-inventing their infrastructure and keeping up with industry trends. Furthermore, decision-makers can now interact with more user-friendly systems and uncover previously hidden visual data without having to consult with expensive IT departments, all thanks to modern business intelligence.
Impacting Operations & Achieving Peak Efficiency with BI
Incorporating modern BI strategies has provided unprecedented benefits for a number of contemporary businesses, but some skepticism persists. Cost, data security, and implementation are the stumbling blocks to a more complete embrace of modernization. Despite these caveats, we are still of the opinion that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, some of which are discussed below:
A time-saving approach
Traditional business intelligence systems put an undue burden on IT staff to gather needs, source data, and build databases that can be accessed by all parties involved. Integration of modern BI solutions streamlines the discovery of outcomes and equips users with visualization tools that improve their understanding of historical data, current conditions, and anticipated outcomes.
Maximizes business productivity
In their efforts to accomplish business targets, productivity within the workplace often takes a back seat. However, with the help of BI tools, businesses can now achieve measurable goals, such as monthly sales quotas and on-time delivery schedules. As an added bonus, their regular business procedures can be monitored. A breakdown of what can be achieved by tapping the capabilities of modern BI:
- Identify cost-reduction opportunities within the business.
- Keeping track of inventory and adjusting production as needed to significantly boost your bottom line.
Locating market opportunities
Understanding what occurred and why is made easier through business intelligence’s process of analyzing unstructured data using qualitative and quantitative metrics. Modern BI’s assistance in identifying opportunities opens a broad spectrum of opportunities, as it helps in:
- A thorough analysis of business capabilities and comparing strong and weak points
- Assessing the state of the market and acting accordingly.
- Get a bird’s-eye view of all the possibilities for growth that could be missing out on.
Making The Move: Parting Words
The data-driven era has arrived — and with that, the advantages of modernizing infrastructure are glaringly apparent. And in spite of the severity of the current economic downturn, it is imperative that your organization place a premium on such technological breakthroughs.
Keep in mind that data analytics is a veritable treasure trove of possibilities as your company readies itself for the digital revolution. Modernizing BI is the first and most important step as you start on this journey toward becoming digital-first.
For help figuring out how to put business intelligence to use in your digital transformation, chat with one of our experts now!
