What is Business Intelligence, Definition and Benefits

What is Business Intelligence?- It is no much longer information that the globe of business is changed by various technical developments and has made information collection, processing, and evaluating critical to business success.

Information rules the globe, from customer support to sales, finance management, corporate interactions, PR, marketing, and a lot more, companies depend on information from their customers, rivals, and industry to flourish, contend and expand their sources.

The expanding need for companies to access to valuable business information and use them to support their business development is where business intelligence (BI) is available in.

Although current research says almost 50% of companies are currently using business intelligence (BI) devices, this guide will share fascinating understandings on business intelligence, how it works and how companies can take advantage of BI to expand.

What is business intelligence (BI)?

What is business intelligence

Business intelligence is a tech-driven process that combines business analytics, information mining, information visualization, information devices and facilities, and best methods to assist companies make more data-driven choices.

It describes the business practice of gathering, evaluating, structuring and transforming raw information right into valuable understandings that can support business development. Business intelligence techniques and devices damage down complex information or information and compile them right into simple, easy-to-understand forms that high-level execs and stakeholders can easily understand.

Business intelligence provides companies with an extensive view of their business information – client habits, market trends, and business changes – to assist them own change, decrease ineffectiveness and adjust effectively to market changes.

Business proprietors, information experts, business users, and IT leaders take advantage of business intelligence methods and devices to manage large historic and present information to determine the ways previous trends affected business efficiency and projection future occasions or outcomes to take advantage of the opportunities and avoid future losses.

Applications of Business Intelligence

Business intelligence is an essential practice that contemporary companies use to stay in advance of market trends, understand client needs, and take advantage of for business development. Several companies, consisting of business, use BI for the following:

Dimension

Business intelligence (BI) devices are commonly used in dimension applications. A great deal of these devices can catch and process information from client connection management (CRM) systems, sensing units, internet traffic, ticketing systems, and so on., to measure business key efficiency signs (KPIs).

For instance, a upkeep group at an ecommerce company choosing a service that uses sensing units to measure the temperature level of important equipment to optimize upkeep routines.

Analytics

Analytics is the process of examining and processing information to find valuable understandings and trends that can support business development. It’s among the popular applications of business intelligence (BI) devices considering how it enables companies to gain a better understanding of their information and efficiently propel business worth by enabling data-driven choices.

For instance, a customer support firm could use analytics to determine persistent client problems and use valuable business information to extend solutions to the problem.

Coverage

Coverage production is a common application of business intelligence devices and software. The expanding need for companies and business to measure their KPIs and determine and monitor market trends has affected the rate of information visualization and coverage structure. Many BI software can currently produce detailed business records to provide information for interior stakeholders, automate complex information analytics jobs and change spreadsheets and word-processing programs.

For instance, a sales supervisor could use a BI device to produce the sales group monthly record showing the sales development, decrease, and improvement to the business execs and stakeholders.

Partnership

Partnership has become among the best uses business intelligence software amongst business currently. The partnership feature enables users within the same group or in various groups to work on the same information and file with each other in real-time. Collaborations in business intelligence systems give room for business development and development and can help to produce new records or dashboards.

For instance, in a circumstance where a business exec needs a customized record on an item development progress, various group leads – item supervisors, information experts, business execs, and quality control testers – can use a collective BI software or device to fill out their information on the record.

Business Intelligence Vs. Information Analytics, What’s the Distinction?

The call “business intelligence” was created in 1989 by business scientist and expert Howard Dresner to use valuable information instead compared to facts to improve the business decision-making process.

In simple terms, business intelligence processes information to provide business execs and stakeholders with valuable business information in a simple, easily digestible way to assist them make better business choices.

While information analytics is a wide and advanced process of evaluating information with advanced technologies such as big information analytics, artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence (AI), anticipating analytics, information mining, and so on.

Business intelligence (BI) and advanced analytics vary in the following ways:

  1. BI answers questions such as “what happened,” “when,” “that,” and “how many” while Analytics answers questions such as “why did it occur,” “will it occur again,” and “what will occur if we change this to that,” and “what more can receive from the data…”
  2. BI records KPIs, metrics, automated monitoring and notifying, control panel, scorecards, online logical processing (OLAP), and functional and real-time BI, while advanced analytics uses analytical or quantitative information evaluation, information mining, anticipating analytics, and text analytics, and big information analytics.

Benefits of Business Intelligence

An effective BI program offers companies many business benefits by evaluating client information and business changes. It enables high-level execs and group leaders to monitor business efficiency on a continuous basis so they can act accordingly when problems or opportunities occur.

Business intelligence also enables marketing, sales, provide chain, manufacturing, and customer support groups to monitor business and client information to earn their processes more effective, improve efficiency, decrease labor costs, and a lot more.

Overall, the key benefits that companies can receive from BI applications are the following:

  • Help to accelerate and improve decision-making.
  • Enhance interior business processes.
  • Increase business functional efficiency and effectiveness.
  • Identify business problems that need immediate attention.
  • Discover arising business and market trends and methods.
  • Contribute to greater sales and incomes.
  • Help companies gain an affordable benefit over rivals.
  • Effectively using information mining in the Internet of points (IoT) systems.
  • Make information easier to understand and use.
  • Improve client experience
  • Enhance worker satisfaction.

Example of the Application of Business Intelligence in the Company

Following are some examples of the application of business intelligence to companies based on the type of industry.

Hospitality Industry

In practice, the hotel industry uses BI to conduct analysis related to average occupancy and room rates. This makes it easier for businesses to decide on the next strategy to increase revenue.

Apart from that, BI is often used by the hotel industry to collect statistics to analyze market trends. The following is an example of the application of business intelligence in the hospitality industry:

Loews Hotels

Loews is a luxury brand that operates 26 properties in North America. In this case, Loews Hotels applies BI as an effort to find potential customers and increase sales .

By implementing BI, Loews was able to achieve a 100% response rate and saw a 76% increase in the value delivered. In addition, Loews also received various awards that show how well BI is implemented in the Loews hospitality industry.

Retail Industry

The retail industry is one of the largest users of BI applications in the world, especially with the emergence of the e-commerce industry and increasing customer interest in the online retail industry.

Below are some examples of the application of business intelligence in the retail industry:

Walmart

The major American supermarket, Walmart, uses BI to understand how online behavior influences business online and in-store activities.

By analyzing the simulations, Walmart can understand the buying patterns of their customers. For example, how many people see glasses and how many glasses are sold in one day.

Not only that, Walmart also uses BI technology to determine the busiest times of the day or month. So, they can make proper preparations to handle it.

Stitch Fix

Stitch Fix is ​​a retail company engaged in the fashion sector . This company has a unique business model.

Wherein the company would send customers customized boxes of clothing based on the customer’s responses to a short questionnaire about their style.

Companies must rely on professional stylists and robust algorithms to be able to correlate customer preferences with personal style based on their responses to questionnaires.

To make this happen, Stitch Fix implemented a BI solution that allows business algorithms to familiarize themselves with customer style choices over time.

Lotte.com

An online retail company from South Korea, Lotte.com, utilizes BI to effectively increase company revenue.

In this case, Lotte uses BI to analyze customer experience and uses that information to understand customer behavior and implement targeted marketing and transform websites.

Hooks

The application of BI to Kroger retail companies aims to track customer buying behavior through loyalty programs. However, unlike most chain stores, Kroger doesn’t spend a lot on mass marketing.

In this regard, Kroger has developed a very accurate and very successful e-mail program with BI. Where, branch stores can send special emails to customers with an exchange rate of more than 70%.

Banking Industry

The banking industry uses BI to facilitate the process of producing analytical reports. BI is generally equipped with an analytical dashboard that displays customer behavior at a certain time. You can use this dashboard to monitor it in real time.

The following is an example of the application of business intelligence in a banking company:

American Express

American Express uses BI technology to develop new payment service product and market offerings for their customers.

Amex’s experiments in the Australian market have allowed him to identify that 24% of all Australian users will close their accounts within four months.

Using that information, Amex can then take steps to retain their customers.

LendingClub

An example of implementing business intelligence in the next banking company is LendingClub. Where companies use BI to optimize workflow processes for users, through a series of A/B testing .

With A/B testing , companies can make lots of small adjustments to better comply with customer preferences, and ultimately deliver big increases in their company’s revenue.

Technology and Information Industry

As an industry that has a close relationship with data and information, information technology (IT) companies certainly need BI solutions to improve their business.

The following is an example of implementing business intelligence in a technology company:

Google

Google not only uses data solutions to oversee customers, but also leverages its strengths in BI solutions to improve internal processes and improve procedural efficiency.

In this regard, Google has a dedicated “People Analytics” team , dedicated to gathering employee opinions on common employment questions.

For example, if there is an actual need for a manager or what exactly should be the role of a manager, or what are the characteristics of the best manager, and so on.

These inputs are then utilized to improve the corporate culture within the company and design workflow processes that are more efficient and promote innovation within the company.

Transportation Company

The transportation industry has long needed comprehensive technological solutions to their various problems. In this case, business intelligence can be the right solution to solve the problem.

For example, what is in the examples of implementing business intelligence in transportation companies below.

Tesla

Tesla is not just a company that manufactures cars, but has built its reputation as a technology company that offers drivers a unique driving experience.

Tesla’s electric car and all its components are connected to Tesla’s headquarters via the Internet of Things (IoT). This unique arrangement allows the company to roll out software updates to its car users free of charge.

However, it also essentially helps companies to collect important business intelligence data about drivers’ preferences and how their cars are driven.

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines has created a robust baggage tracking system that allows airlines to easily follow travelers’ baggage.

The airline company also has an effective app for travelers that allows them to easily track the location of their luggage.

Platform Media Sosial

Social media platforms have now become a close part of human life, and without boundaries. With billions of monthly active users, this platform has become a data center for companies wishing to target their advertisements over the internet.

However, the abundance of data and active users means that social media platforms need to make the best use of BI solutions. The following is an example of implementing business intelligence in a social media platform company:

Twitter

If you’re a Twitter user, you already know that the character limit set for Tweets has been a hotly debated topic among its users. This was followed by the addition of the Tweet character limit from 140 words to 280 words.

However, what users don’t know is that Twitter has actually done due diligence using the BI app. Where, increasing the character limit only makes it easier and faster for users to express themselves without adjusting and compressing the number limit.

Facebook

Recently, Facebook has been accused of causing a decline in the mental health of its users. The reason for this is the user’s carefully curated comparison of real life to the online lives of others.

To combat this negative trend, Facebook is experimenting with using BI, by making like counts private and visible only to the person who posted them.

Tik Tok

TikTok uses BI technology to derive the platform’s highly efficient data analytics capabilities, making video browsing nearly obsolete for its users.

In this case, TikTok is able to display related videos to users, as soon as they open the “For You” tab. Over time, users can train the app’s algorithms to their liking by reacting to the videos they see.

Conclusion

Business intelligence (BI) is a set of processes and technologies that changes raw information right into significant business information that will help you make better choices and business activities.

In today’s business globe, many companies use BI systems and technologies to determine market trends and spot business problems that need immediate attention and solutions. BI systems are commonly used by information experts, IT experts, business users, and high-level execs to improve efficiency, responsibility, and exposure.

Although most BI systems are known to be lengthy and complex to use, you can refix these problems by determining critical information, monitoring and improving information sets, and requiring educating and support to name a few.

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