What is Business Intelligence (BI)?

Learn the basics and the benefits!

Nowadays, various departments and business processes within companies generate vast amounts of data. This scattered data and key numbers can reduce productivity. The solution: A business intelligence system that bundles and analyses scattered big data.

A business intelligence system increases the productivity of your business and provides foundation for a successful management. Learn more about Business Intelligence, its benefits and how you can apply it in your business. Find out what steps are necessary to establish business intelligence as a solution for data analysis in your company.

What is Business Intelligence?

Contents

• Business Intelligence defined
• What differentiates Business Intelligence from other areas?
• What are the advantages of Business Intelligence for companies?
• What are the fields of application of Business Intelligence?
• How do companies and the BI agency work together?
• Start using a BI system for your data analysis now!

Business Intelligence defined?

In Germany, BI systems are primarily understood as analytical information systems. The term was first used by Hans Peter Luhn in his article "A Business Intelligence System" published in 1958. Since the 1990s, the term Business Intelligence has been established and coined by the Gartner Group. In the years that followed, BI developed independently of "data warehousing", "enterprise content management" and "knowledge management".

Business Intelligence (BI) is a collective term for analyses of procedures and processes. These data are used to systematically analyse your company and processes and are based on the collection, evaluation and presentation of data from internal systems and external sources.

This includes all business processes from production to sales. The collected data is processed using business intelligence software and represented in the form of dashboards, reports and data visualisations. This helps management to make strategic and operational decisions. 

What differentiates Business Intelligence from other areas?

Business Intelligence is clearly differentiated from predictive analytics and monitoring. Compared to predictive analytics, Business Intelligence is used to answer questions about the current state of the company. In contrast, predictive analytics makes predictions about the future based on the data fed into various data models. Both the connection and distinction between business intelligence and monitoring is that most of today's IT-supported monitoring systems are based on business intelligence technologies. Additionally, BI tools are used in monitoring to support and improve various monitoring tasks.

What are the advantages of business intelligence for companies?

By using Business Intelligence software, companies can help their employees and management avoid being overwhelmed by vast amounts of data. Digitalisation means that companies generate large amounts of data daily. Properly analysing, evaluating and using the data becomes a challenge. Gaining information from data creates new opportunities, e.g. by giving companies new insights into their activities and business.

To reduce costs and increase the company's profitability, it is important to have reliable and solid key figures that management can analyse. Here, BI systems play an important role because they support planning and decision-making.

By using a Business Intelligence system, companies require fewer data specialists who were previously responsible for collecting, processing, and evaluating data. With BI tools, even users without specialist knowledge can generate meaningful analyses. With a BI system, companies' key performance indicators (KPIs) are precisely examined. The resulting analysis improves companies’ ability to act and make strategic decisions. Managers and executives access current KPIs in real time via interactive dashboards and make their decisions on this basis.

Data is visualised with the use of BI tools. Data visualisations allow for more effective storytelling, which makes it easier for executives and managers to understand data and make decisions. Data and the analysis results based on it are digitally accessible anytime and anywhere. The availability of the right information at the right time is crucial to act effectively in the market.

What are the fields of application of business intelligence?

Operational applications of business intelligence can be illustrated using two dimensions. The first dimension, the organisational level, can be divided into three sub-levels, including the operational, tactical and strategic levels. The second dimension is the focus area. This is divided into the internal organisation and its environment. This includes suppliers, customers, markets and competitors.

Business intelligence fields of application can be categorised as follows:

Supply chain intelligence

Supply chain intelligence focuses on information about a company's procurement and sales. Logistics and warehousing are also considered. Relevant values and parameters often come from suppliers.

Competitive intelligence

Competitive intelligence focuses on the collection, consolidation and analysis of data from outside the company's own business area. This data is collected in a structured way about markets, technologies and competitors.

Strategic Intelligence

Strategic intelligence analyses various developments over a longer period, such as technological trends and political developments.

Internal BI

Internal BI is currently used most frequently and can encompass all organisational levels. The focus of internal BI is the tactical level.

Corporate Performance Management

As part of Corporate Performance Management, internal performance indicators are made available at a strategic level.

Business Activity Monitoring

Business Activity Monitoring deals with the permanent monitoring of business processes. This enables operational processes to be improved.

Customer Relationship Analytics

Customer relationship analytics are analytical information systems. These systems can be used to evaluate all the company's activities in the areas of service, marketing and sales. Various BI processes are used for this.

Web analytics

Internet data is at the heart of web analytics. This data is measured, stored, analysed and reported as part of web analytics. The aim of this analysis is to gain insights into the behaviour of users on a website and to optimise it accordingly.

How do companies and BI agencies work together?

Workflow for Business Intelligence Analyses

The first phase involves getting to know each other and defining objectives. The BI consultant or BI analyst and the point of contact in the company discuss which key performance indicators are to be obtained from the existing data using software and which data can help answer the open questions.

In the second phase, the relevant database table from DevOps Developers is integrated into the BI system Metabase. All common database formats are integrated into the Metabase BI software. The integration of the database into Metabase is encrypted to always ensure maximum data security.

In the third phase, the analysis takes place, and the open questions are answered. Other interesting anomalies and findings are also noted by BI consultants. The results are determined using various database queries and compiled in clear dashboards.

In the fourth phase, the results are presented, and further special features are identified.

Start using a BI system for your data analysis now!

Are you excited about analysing your data? Let's talk about your data, potential queries and data merging solutions to make informed data-driven decisions using BI.

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