Companies have been using business intelligence (BI) software tools to inform decisions for years. Until recently, the primary purpose of this type of software was to track metrics like sales goals and offer a high-level view of the enterprise’s operations.
In today’s fast-paced business environments, traditional BI is no longer enough. Modern BI software has had to adapt to a world in which data is largely unstructured and unpredictable, which makes it hard to analyze. The BI solutions that are most popular in 2022 use artificial intelligence and machine learning to collect and analyze all types of data. Read on to find out why that is so beneficial.
1. Prescriptive Analytics
Access to data isn’t enough. Company leaders need to be able to not just view that data but use it to understand and predict market trends. Only newer BI solutions can perform prescriptive analytics, so if you’re using Business Intelligence software that isn’t offering that extra insight, it’s time to make a change.
2. An Agile Approach
Agile business models depend on quick iterations, and quick iterations rely on data collection and testing. In other words, it takes high-quality BI tools to embrace an agile business model. That said, even traditional BI tools can offer some extra insight by allowing the entire company’s leadership to access the same data and reports.
Let’s take a look at one example. Development teams can use AI-driven BI software to report on app usage in real-time, then use that data to improve UX design accordingly. Marketing teams, customer service departments, sales teams, and others can all take advantage of the insights offered by modern BI solutions to improve their efficiency and effectiveness, as well.
3. Increased Personalization
Today’s BI software solutions support a wide variety of analytical functions, including not just data visualizations and performance scorecards but also online analytical processing. These and other functions can be combined to flesh out customer personas, which can help both marketing and sales teams to offer a greater level of personalization in their approaches. In other words, an agile approach improves customer experience just as much as it does inter-department collaboration and other internal operations.
4. Proven Return on Investment
Some teams within large companies, most notably marketing departments, have a hard time justifying requests for greater funding. The problem has historically been that proving the return on investment (ROI) of a digital marketing campaign was extremely difficult. Most organizations use an omnichannel approach to marketing, which means user journeys tend to be divided between different touchpoints.
BI software tools can help a company’s decision-makers to better understand the data pouring in from different campaigns. Marketing departments can also use this data to analyze reports, develop insight, and use the increased knowledge of ROI to make more effective pitches for additional funding. Because these marketing campaigns are now proven to be effective, the entire company benefits.
Choose the Right Software Solution
Businesses will only be able to benefit from modern BI tools if they choose software solutions that are tailored to meet their needs. Given the expense associated with deploying new software solutions across entire companies, it’s worth taking the time to research options or spending the money to hire a consultant. Remember, today’s BI solutions have made serious steps forward, so don’t assume that any software system will do. Find cutting-edge software solutions to stay competitive.
