The Top Benefits of Business Intelligence

Benefits Of Business Intelligence July 31, 2020

Lauren Christiansen

Writer

Big data is a bi-product of modern technology. It has increased the ways in which information can be obtained and utilized. Smartphones and computers provide a plethora of big data that organizations are harnessing in order to grow their customer base and increase operational efficiency.

There are also many other data sources that owners and stakeholders are using to their benefit. Companies are frequently utilizing technologies that can leverage these data sources in order to gain key insights and make better business decisions. Business intelligence software allows organizations to maintain and manage data so it can be easily shared and analyzed.

How Business Intelligence Works

Business intelligence encompasses all of the tools and technologies needed to gain insights from raw data. Once understood, this data can be utilized to gain advantages over the competition and to enhance overall performance.

Both owners and regular employees within the organization can utilize business intelligence tools. Reporting and analytics tools include dashboards that store and manage information from multiple data sources into one accessible place. Business intelligence tools are primarily used so employees can see day-to-day tasks and track their progress on these tasks.

In order to receive the most benefit from business intelligence tools, organizations should consider their day-to-day business operations, what their overall data collection and management goals are, and their customer needs. They can then develop a strategy to slowly implement their business intelligence system.

Owners can separate their goals into small parts, and build out their BI platform from there. For example, one goal may be to create a customer database that is accessible to each department. The organization can then start by building an intelligence system that houses all of their customer information. Afterward, they can move on to their next goal. This prevents organizations from being overwhelmed by an excessive amount of data at once.

Why is Business Intelligence so Important?

The amount of data available to businesses has skyrocketed over the last decade. With modern advancements in tech, business intelligence can be sourced from digital platforms, wireless sensors, virtual reality applications, and billions of mobile phones. A benefit of business intelligence is that the increase in available data can be harnessed in order to better understand customers, improve productivity, and increase operational efficiency. One study affirmed that a retailer could utilize big data to increase its operating margin, or how much profit a company makes after subtracting any business expense, by 60 percent. These opportunities are not exclusive to just retailers. Healthcare, restaurants, and manufacturing industries can also leverage big data to their advantage.

In order to perform data analytics, companies need the proper tools. The benefits of business intelligence software are that it collects data from various sources and then filters through it so companies can understand how they are performing and what factors are contributing to its performance. Decision-makers can then use the knowledge gained from intelligence tools to adjust their business strategies, increase operational efficiency, meet key performance metrics, and find solutions to problems.

The benefit of business intelligence software is that it has the capacity to funnel data from multiple sources into one accessible storage system. This is important when companies want to monitor revenue, gain insight into consumer buying, or track employee progress. The organization can discern which goals are most important and then utilize aspects of business intelligence to reach them.

The Benefits of Business Intelligence

Some of the benefits of business intelligence include-

Fast and Accurate Reporting
Employees can make custom reports or templates by utilizing multiple data sources that monitor key performance indicators, or KPIs.

Valuable Business Insights
BI tools help owners assess what is and isn't working within their company. Owners can gauge employee productivity, see their revenue, and analyze how each department is performing. They can then use this information to change their business model, if necessary.

Competitive Analysis
Companies that can manage and collect large amounts of data already have an advantage over competitors who don't. A unique benefit of business intelligence is that owners can track their competitor's sales and advertising performance.

Higher Data Quality
Multiple databases or data sources can cause numerous data inaccuracies because the data is lower quality. Businesses that carefully monitor and frequently update their data will have a higher quality of data. Higher quality data allows owners to make better insights because they are based on more reliable information.

Increased Customer Satisfaction
BI software identifies key demographics and customer spending patterns. This data can be utilized to create a better future customer experience.

Identify Market Trends
BI tools allow owners and managers to build new marketing strategies based on internal and external data, like forecasting new sales trends in the market.

Operational Efficiency
Business intelligence tools aid in the organization of multiple data sources so time is not wasted rummaging through numerous reports. By knowing up-to-date and accurate information, employees can focus on short and long-term goals and strategies and discover what impact their decisions have on day-to-day operations.

Better Decision-Making
Competitors move quickly, so companies need to make business decisions as quickly as possible. If problems are not addressed accurately and consistently, businesses can lose customers and revenue. An important benefit of business intelligence is that existing data can be utilized to deliver information to the proper people at the right time.

Increased Revenue
Data from business intelligence tools help owners decipher the factors that contribute to an increase or decrease in sales. They can view key performance indicators across multiple departments and then discern which components are affecting their business. Owners can then use these insights to adjust their business strategy and increase their revenue in the future.

Expanded Profit Margins
Codified sales data can help companies understand the demographics and purchasing patterns. This data can empower the sales team to create better budgeting strategies.