Which BI or Analytics Tool is Best for My Business?

Traditional BI, Augmented Analytics, or Modern BI/Analytics?

Whether your business is planning to acquire a business intelligence (BI) or augmented analytics tool for a first-time installation or looking to upgrade an existing system, the decision starts with the ‘what’ of the solution. What kind of solution will best fit your needs for infrastructure, integration, user requirements, pricing, upgrades etc. and what kind of approach, features and functionality will be most suitable for your business.

‘When considering a new or upgraded business intelligence or advanced analytics solution, it is important to look at your enterprise requirements to accommodate existing technologies and infrastructure, business processes and models and user needs.’

Recent Study reveals a number of considerations to be included in your choice of BI tools and analytical platforms, including:

  • Zero footprint: 100% web-based, no client-side installs or downloads required
  • Support for role-based reporting and dashboards
  • Support for mobile Business Intelligence
  • Communication features like notes, comments, and likes
  • Updates in real-time: your dashboard is always up to date
  • Basket, advanced and predictive analysis
  • Support for machine learning and generative AI
  • Usability: ease-of-use and ease-of-learning
  • Insights (graphs, definitions, et cetera) that are reusable across BI applications

While this study carves out what it considers to be the optimal analytics framework and platform, some of all of these considerations may not apply to your business needs.

What Do I Need to Consider When Choosing BI Tools and Analytics Solutions?

When reviewing the various iterations of analytics frameworks and platforms, you will need to understand the following capabilities and structures. Understanding how each of these approaches works and what advantages and limitations they include will make it easier for you to choose a solution and approach to suit your needs.

Augmented Analytics

Today’s augmented data analytics incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to streamline, automate and improve the process of data analysis, so business users can more easily gather, interact with, select and report on data, simplifying data prep, insight and collaboration and allowing your team to explore data in a way that is meaningful to them.

Augmented analytics uses machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and algorithms to easily analyze and manipulate large datasets and reduces the time needed for processing, thereby allowing business users to leverage analytics in their day-to-day workflow and freeing Data Scientists to perform more strategic tasks.

Benefits of Augmented Analytics

  • Streamlined data prep and analytics
  • Optimizes business user and data scientist time and effort
  • Faster, more insightful decision-making
  • Increased operational efficiency
  • Democratized data analytics

Traditional Business intelligence

Traditional BI Tools use conventional analytical techniques and technologies to collect, analyze and present data. These systems typically rely on a centralized data source and a selected set of formatted reports. Users leverage data extraction, transformation and loading tools (ETL) to extract data from a data warehouse and online analytical processing (OLAP) tools to analyze data. Reports and visualization are typically delivered through a dashboard with standard key performance indicator (KPI) software to monitor metrics.

Benefits of Traditional BI Tools

  • These tools provide support for a range of data types and data sources
  • IT and/or data scientists can create standardized reports and models to address business and user needs
  • The enterprise can maintain and control data sources on-site

Modern BI Tools and Augmented Analytics

When an organization integrates the use of modern BI tools with more advanced augmented analytics it can leverage artificial intelligence and traditional tools to satisfy the needs of a diverse set of users, business units, etc. Modern Business Intelligence technologies integrates more sophisticated features to bring analytics to all users and allow them to choose the tools that best suit their needs in a self-serve environment with automated data preparation, fast and easy data access and insight, Natural Language Processing (NLP) that allows users to ask questions using common language and receive answers using visualization techniques.

Benefits of Modern BI Tools and Augmented Analytics Combined

  • Sophisticated self-serve analytics suitable for business users with limited technical skills
  • Real-Time insights and reduced time-to-decision
  • Monitoring and managing of trends, anomalies and other factors that impact results
  • Collaboration and data democratization with unique tools to suit every user
‘When reviewing the various iterations of analytics frameworks and platforms, you will need to understand the following capabilities and structures. Understanding how each of these approaches works and what advantages and limitations they include will make it easier for you to choose a solution and approach to suit your needs.’

When considering a new or upgraded business intelligence or advanced analytics solution, it is important to look at your enterprise requirements to accommodate existing technologies and infrastructure, business processes and models and user needs.

Contact Us to discuss the unique needs of your organization and your users and find out more about Smarten Technology. The process of choosing the right Analytics Solution for your busine is crucial and must include a careful assessment of your needs. Explore our White Paper: ‘Enabling Business Optimization And Expense Reduction Through The Use Of Augmented Analytics,’ and our article, ‘How Does Low Code And No Code Development Support BI Tools?

Mobile BI Supports User Access and Adoption and Improves Results

Why Adopt Mobile BI? Data Access and Data Democratization

The global business environment has changed dramatically. With employees working remotely, and even in other countries, it is mandatory to provide technology and tools your team can use to complete tasks and, hopefully, to add value to the organization on a daily basis.

If you have not yet adopted a business intelligence or augmented analytics solution, it is wise to consider one now. Your competitors are already implementing these solutions! If you HAVE adopted a BI tool or self-serve analytics solution, but you have yet to provide your team with mobile business intelligence, it is past time to consider this addition because your competitors area already implementing THESE solutions as well!

‘Out-of-the-Box Mobile BI can provide natural language search analytics, clickless analytics for quick, easy analysis, key performance indicators, dashboards and reports, dynamic charts and graphs, and intuitive visualizations, with self-serve features that are suitable for every user.’

According to Market Research Future studies, ‘The Business Intelligence market segmentation, based on Technology, includes Mobile BI, Cloud BI, and Social BI…’ This market is…’is expected to grow and expand during the projected timeframe as it will help businesses make data-driven decisions, boosting the overall market growth.’ This study estimates that the business intelligence market will grow from USD 33.12B in 2024 to USD 78.42B in 2032.

The reason for that growth is simple. Businesses, large and small, are discovering the value of fact-based decision-making, and the wise business owner, executive or manager understands that their competition is actively involved in improving productivity (to do more with less), in improving customer satisfaction (with targeted products and services), in decreasing re-work and increasing collaboration, and above all in increasing the data literacy of its team through data democratization, easy access to crucial data and improved user adoption of technology.

Access Data From Anywhere with Next Gen Mobile BI Tools for Business Users

But the old methods of BI tool installation can no longer support strategic goals. Your team may be spread across countries, regions or cities. They may work in the field. They may be meeting with a client or a supplier. Any or all of these scenarios require mobile tools that provide your team with the information they need to make the right decision, to review historical data or transactions and work with others to create a pricing strategy, check on stock, understand customer buying behavior etc.

If you truly wish to make your team more productive and effective, it is crucial to give them access to data and the information they need to do their job, no matter where they are working (in the office or remotely). Easy-to-use, self-service tools ensure user adoption and can move your team members toward a Citizen Data Scientist role, with advanced analytics that is intuitive, interactive and flexible.

Out-of-the-Box Mobile BI can provide natural language search analytics (NLP), clickless analytics for quick, easy analysis, key performance indicators (KPIs) for metrics and results, dashboards and reports, dynamic charts and graphs, and intuitive visualizations, all designed for ease-of-use with self-serve features that are suitable for every user.

With these tools, your users can easily find and analyze information, working from anywhere, at any time of the day. They will not have to guess at information, or carry copies of old reports that are no longer relevant.

‘If you have adopted a BI tool or self-serve analytics solution, but you have yet to provide your team with mobile business intelligence, it is past time to consider this addition because your competitors area already implementing these solutions.’

If you want to support your business user team and provide a foundation for BI tools that will better serve your team and your customers, explore Smarten Mobile BI benefits and features, with powerful functionality and access for your business users including out-of-the-box Mobile BI and advanced analytics for every team member. For more information on Mobile BI and Augmented Analytics, read our article, ‘Mobile BI Business Use Provides Real Advantages,’ and take a moment to watch and listen to this informative webinar, ‘Smarten Mobile BI.’

Mobile BI is Not Just Nice to Have – It’s Crucial!

Improve Results, Precision and User Adoption with Mobile BI

Two things are true today. The first is that we are a mobile society, tied to our devices, carrying them with us everywhere to stay connected, to get information and to communicate. The second true thing is that we are busier than ever and, if we are to keep up, we must find ways to be more productive. The advent of technology and the rapid pace of change has created a situation where there is always more to do than we have time to do!

When it comes to business, both of these true things are even truer! If we are a business owner or manager we know that we never have enough resources or staff and that the invaluable knowledge of our employees and professionals must be leveraged and optimized if we are to succeed. We also know that most companies today have team and staff members who are not working within the walls of a manufacturing plant or an office. Even in a retail business, our team members are often working after hours or they are on the road visiting suppliers or buyers.

That’s where mobile business intelligence (BI) comes in! Every business needs analytics and data to understand where the business is today, where it is going and what we need to do to keep the business moving on the path to success. But, information is everywhere and it can be difficult to gather it and make sense of it and use it to make decisions.

‘A mobile business intelligence (BI) app should not short change your users with restrictive formats or views.’

By integrating enterprise data and making it available in an easy-to-use mobile interface, you can allow every user in the enterprise to use data in a way that is meaningful to them and to their tasks and decisions and if that analytical solution is available on a mobile device, we enable them to be productive in airports, hotels, at client or supplier offices and while working at home.

Mobile Business Intelligence (BI) Provides Critical Support for Business Growth and User Adoption

According to a recent study by Mordor Intelligence, the fastest growing mobile BI market is in the Asia Pacific region and the largest market is in the United States.

If you are interested in expanding your business intelligence solution to a mobile environment, or in acquiring BI tools for your team, the right Mobile BI solution will:

  • Provide a native application with a seamless user interface that supports a great user experience (Ux) for ALL users (even those with average technical skills)
  • Be available for iOS and Android
  • Be suitable for self-serve analytics to encourage user adoption
  • Be easy to deploy and use
  • Provide good support
  • Be affordable
  • Provide support for data democratization and improved data literacy
  • Provide suitable return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO)

A mobile business intelligence (BI) app should not short change your users with restrictive formats or views. Look for a solution with:

  • Clear, flexible data visualization
  • Dynamic charts and graphs
  • Supportive dashboards and clear reports
  • Clickless analytics that are easy to use
  • Key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics
  • Natural Language Processing (NLP) analytics that are intuitive and easy

‘By integrating enterprise data and making it available in an easy-to-use mobile interface, we allow every user in the enterprise to use data in a way that is meaningful to them and to their tasks and decisions.’

If you want to support your business user team and provide a foundation for BI tools that will better serve your team and your customers, explore Smarten Mobile BI benefits and features, with powerful functionality and access for your business users including out-of-the-box Mobile BI and advanced analytics for every team member. For more information on Mobile BI and Augmented Analytics, read our article, ‘Mobile BI Business Use Provides Real Advantages,’ and take a moment to watch and listen to this informative webinar, ‘Smarten Mobile BI.’

BI Tools and Augmented Analytics That Ensure User Adoption and ROI

Ensure ROI, TCO and User Adoption with the Right BI Tools

When a business sets out to implement BI tools or self-serve augmented analytics, it must consider the entire technology landscape of the business, the expectations of end-users, the cost of the solution, how easily it can be upgraded and integrated and, well…so much more!

 

‘To ensure user adoption and achieve the ROI and TCO the business deserves, take the time to do the work. Develop requirements, consider the features and functionality of a solution and compare those to your use cases and your user expectations.’

 

Management teams do not take kindly to poor Return on Investment (ROI ) or Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and if the business has had difficult projects in the past, the next time a software solution is presented for approval, senior managers will remember the challenges and failures of the past!

 

Still, when you are attempting to transition business users into Citizen Data Scientists, there is bound to be some pushback from users and that pushback, combined with senior management concerns can and WILL bring your project to its knees if you do not anticipate and address these concerns.

 

Here are some statistics that will help you to understand the issues faced by businesses in implementing BI tools and analytics:
  • The global BI adoption rate is 26%
  • On average, businesses use at least four different BI tools
  • 97% of the data gathered by businesses is not used
  • 74% of employees express dissatisfaction and are overwhelmed when working with business data

 

In order to assure successful deployment, user adoption, improved Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), the business should include detailed requirements in its solution selection. When choosing a BI tool and augmented analytics solution for your business, one of the most crucial concerns is the features and functionality of the prospective solution and how this solution will meet user and organizational needs. When planning for deployment of BI tools and augmented analytics, the business should take the time to work through a process, ensuring that it has considered what users need and want to ensure user adoption and the ease-of-use and features the solution will provide.
To Achieve User Adoption, ROI and TCO Goals, Select the RIGHT BI Tools and Augmented Analytics
It is important to remember that there are also specific features a business should consider, like embedded BI and easy-to-employ Integration APIs, that will assure user adoption and appropriate ROI and TCO. These considerations will affect how well the solution is received, whether users will adopt it and be satisfied with the selection, and how the investment will perform when considering total cost of ownership (TCO) and return on investment (ROI) when compared to other possible uses of the same investment funding.

 

With this foundation of documented features, services, skills and capabilities, the business can implement, manage, upgrade and support Business Intelligence and Augmented Analytics capacity and growth within the organization.

 

‘When you are attempting to transition business users into Citizen Data Scientists, there is bound to be some pushback from users and that pushback, combined with senior management concerns can and WILL bring your project to its knees if you do not anticipate and address these concerns.’

 

To ensure user adoption and achieve the ROI and TCO the business deserves, take the time to do the work. Develop requirements, consider the features and functionality of a solution and compare those to your use cases and your user expectations. INVOLVE your users and middle managers in planning to understand how and when to deploy the tools and how to support your business users as you transition them into Citizen Data Scientists.

 

To find out more about how to ensure Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) results, and enable user adoption, read our free White Paper, ‘A Roadmap To ROI And User Adoption Of Augmented Analytics And BI.’ To find out more about our Augmented Analytics And BI ToolsContact Us. Keep pace with changing enterprise needs and support business agility. Let us help you realize your business goals and objectives with fact-based information, and flexible, scalable technology solutions that will support Citizen Data Scientist initiatives, and improved data literacy and data democratization.

 

Original Post : BI Tools and Augmented Analytics That Ensure User Adoption and ROI!

Mobile BI Tools Solve Many Enterprise Issues!

Incorporate Data Into User Roles with Mobile BI

If you are a business executive or an IT professional, you have probably seen a number of articles about the importance of Business Intelligence in industry publications and trade journals. If you are still unconvinced or uncertain about the critical importance of business intelligence (BI) and analytics for businesses like yours, here are some sobering, surprising and impressive statistics to ponder.

  • The global business intelligence adoption rate is 26%.
  • Organizations use 4 or more different business intelligence tools on average.
  • Organizations leave 97% of gathered data unused.
  • 74% of employees feel unhappy or overwhelmed when working with data.
  • Businesses using business intelligence are 5 times more likely to reach faster decisions than those that do not.
  • Bad data costs the US economy $3.1 trillion each year.

When you review these statistics, you will notice that some of the issues described can be resolved by the careful selection of the right software and solutions to satisfy your business, your team needs and your data infrastructure.

Why Mobile BI? Because it Solves Common Business Analytics Complaints!

If you are planning to acquire or upgrade a business intelligence or analytics app or solution to provide self-serve augmented analytics for your business users and improve productivity, access and data sharing, you will want to include the review of mobile business intelligence solutions in your requirements.

‘Mobile business intelligence (BI) solutions improve user adoption, ensure access to data from anywhere and encourage the use of data-driven information across the enterprise.’

The right mobile BI tools can address the issues and statistics listed above in the following ways:

  • The global business intelligence adoption rate is 26% – Mobile BI tools will increase the user adoption rate by providing intuitive data analytics that users can access from anywhere at any time, making these tools an important part of each team member’s tool box.
  • Organizations use 4 or more different business intelligence tools on average – The right mobile BI solution can integrate data from disparate data sources, and allow users to visualize in a way that is meaningful to each team member. It can optimize technology infrastructure and mitigate the issue of data silos and complex data mining and data gathering.
  • Organizations leave 97% of gathered data unused – Data is often misunderstood, misused or unused simply because team members and the enterprise do not know how to leverage, gather and analyze the data, or because the IT and/or data science team is short on resources and does not have the time to produce reports. Mobile BI tools are designed to be used by business professionals on a daily basis and to encourage data literacy and data democratization across the enterprise.
  • 74% of employees feel unhappy or overwhelmed when working with data – Understand and address your business user concerns and make data more accessible, easier to understand and use, concise and clear, so that every user can optimize data, make confident decisions and share and collaborate without data science skills or sophisticated data analytical experience.
  • Businesses using business intelligence are 5 times more likely to reach faster decisions than those that do not – Improve productivity, time to market and return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO) to gain a competitive advantage with mobile tools and easy-to-use techniques that will enable fact-based decisions.
  • Bad data costs the US economy $3.1 trillion each year – Banish bad data by integrating your data sources and analyzing and presenting data in a mobile environment to gain insight into trends, opportunities, issues and problems and reveal clear, concise soluti

‘If you are planning to acquire or upgrade a business intelligence or analytics app or solution to provide self-serve augmented analytics for your business users and improve productivity, access and data sharing, you will want to include the review of mobile business intelligence solutions in your requirements.’

Mobile business intelligence (BI) solutions improve user adoption, ensure access to data from anywhere and encourage the use of data-driven information across the enterprise.

If you want to support your business user team and provide a foundation for BI tools that will better serve your team and your customers, explore Smarten Mobile BI benefits and features, with powerful functionality and access for your business users including out-of-the-box Mobile BI and advanced analytics for every team member. For more information on Mobile BI and Augmented Analytics, read our article, ‘Mobile BI Business Use Provides Real Advantages.’

Original Post : Mobile BI Tools Solve Many Enterprise Issues!

Understanding How Businesses Use Mobile BI to Achieve Results!

Mobile BI Business Use Illustrates Real Advantages!

Mobile Business Intelligence (or Mobile BI) is defined as ‘a system comprising both technical and organizational elements that present historical and/or real-time information to its users for analysis on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets (not laptops), to enable effective decision-making and management support, for the overall purpose of increasing firm performance.’

Aberdeen Group reports that businesses adopt Mobile BI to:

  • Improve business process efficiency
  • Improve employee productivity
  • Make better decisions, more quickly
  • Provide better customer service
  • Deliver real-time bi-directional data access to make decisions anytime and anywhere.

‘Mobile BI benefits go well beyond simple reporting and the sharing of data across user groups, to address real business issues and to keep users up to date and allow them to respond to real world, real-time issues.’

As local and global competition increases, most businesses are looking for ways to improve their competitive advantage, and to quickly adapt to the changing market, to employee needs and to customer buying behavior.

It can be helpful to consider some real-world business use cases, in order to understand the value and benefit of incorporating a Mobile BI solution within your technology landscape and your analytics approach.

The advantages of Mobile BI go beyond team collaboration and individual reporting needs, to provide the background and foundational information needed to make decisions on business strategy and to understand customer preferences.

Real World Business Use of Mobile BI Reveals Benefits and Advantages

The following list of companies represents a small sampling of businesses currently using Mobile BI to improve business results and efficiency:

Amazon – Amazon analyzes purchasing behavior and browsing history to predict what products a customer might want to see, and what they are likely to buy, personalizing the customer experience and making it easier for customers to complete a transaction. BI tools help the business to forecast demand and ensure that stock is available.

Starbucks – The business has implemented a loyalty program to help with customer engagement and sales, personalizing marketing strategies and allowing customers to order, pay and receive rewards. It gathers data using its digital channels and uses that data to create targeted offers and to improve customer retention, as well as increasing the amount customers spend during a visit.

Netflix – The company uses BI tools to personalize the viewing experience and to analyze customer viewing preferences and push specific options to the customer based on viewing history. Mobile BI tools allow teams to analyze and share information regarding regional viewing and to make decisions on the fly.

Uber – The company business model is dependent on the rapid changes and shifting behavior of customers from one local and regional area to the next. Real-time pricing and operational decisions are made to support surge pricing and driver deployment for high demand areas. The back-end systems and BI tools allow drivers to access information using the Uber app so that they can quickly respond to the changing environment.

Tesla – Mobile BI and wireless car data analytics allow Tesla to connect remotely to corporate offices and collect and analyze vehicle data to address issues and update customers on maintenance etc.

X/Twitter – Mobile BI provides support or moderators to identify and quickly address platform safety issues, violations, etc. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with BI tools allows the business to quickly respond and ensure a safe user experience.

Mobile BI provides the background and foundational information needed to make decisions on business strategy and to understand customer preferences.

These examples illustrate the many ways in which Mobile BI can be used to address business issues, providing user access and analytics for team members no matter where they are and how they need to use the data. Mobile BI benefits go well beyond simple reporting and the sharing of data across user groups, to address real business issues and to keep users up to date and allow them to respond to real world, real-time issues.

If you want to support your business user team and provide a foundation for BI tools that will better serve your team and your customers, explore Smarten Mobile BI benefits and features,  with powerful functionality and access for your business users including out-of-the-box Mobile BI and advanced analytics for every team member. For more information on Mobile BI and Augmented Analytics, read our article, ‘Understanding The Truth About Mobile BI.’

Original Post : Understanding How Businesses Use Mobile BI to Achieve Results!

Choose the Right Mobile BI Solution for Your Business!

What Do I Need to Know Before I Choose a Mobile Business Intelligence (BI) Solution for My Business?

What makes a great Mobile Business Intelligence (BI) solution? There are many factors to consider and, if you do not choose wisely, you risk a) spending a lot of money and getting very little in return, b) working with incorrect, old or incomplete data, c) having to upgrade and spend even more money, d) disappointing your team and falling short of objectives, e) missing your Citizen Data Scientist initiative goals.

Mobile BI Improves Productivity and Results!

Add Mobile BI for Your Team and Improve Access, Analytics and Business Decisions!

Recent surveys reveal that the mobile BI market is growing by leaps and bounds. Of those surveyed, over 35% of companies said that mobile BI is in use among their business users. While some businesses have yet to adopt BI tools or augmented analytics for their business users, many have done so, and are now in the process of adding mobile BI to the set of tools available to users. There is no doubt that the COVID pandemic affected this strategy, since many businesses are now embracing a full-time or a hybrid remote work environment that requires team members to have access to tools from wherever they are working.

Extend Your Business Reach with Mobile BI!

Support Your Team and Achieve Business Results with a Mobile BI Solution!

Gone are the days when every employee in your enterprise was tied to a desk inside the walls of your office building. Today’s team members are working remote, or visiting clients, or on the road, or perhaps they are in the office in a staff meeting and in need of crucial information to make a decision. Whatever the case, your team needs flexible, mobile solutions to do their jobs in today’s high-stakes, competitive environment, and mobile BI is definitely among the solutions they need.

‘If you want to support your business user team, explore mobile augmented analytics and mobile BI, you can add powerful functionality and access for your business users with out-of-the-box Mobile BI.’

Mobile BI solutions provide data for analysis on mobile devices to support objective, fact-based decision-making improve overall business performance.

Mobile BI Offers Numerous Benefits to Users and the Enterprise

According to Mordor Intelligence, ‘The growth in the adoption of mobile BI can be attributed to numerous factors, such as the growing adoption of data analytics, an increase in mobile data generation, proliferation of mobile devices and apps, and the improved efficiency of BI tools.’

There are many benefits to creating a Mobile BI environment:

  • Your users can leverage a native app, with a seamless user interface for a great user experience (Ux)
  • The enterprise can extend the office environment, allowing for swift analysis and decisions from anywhere and improving productivity
  • Mobile BI will encourage user adoption and provide support for BI investments and data democratization and improved data literacy
  • The organization can ensure data security with access rights defined on the server, so security and privacy is ensured at all levels
  • The mobile BI app is supported from anywhere within IT infrastructure –on premises, public or private cloud
  • Business Users have access to dashboards, reports, Clickless Analytics – Google-type Natural Language Processing (NLP) Search functionality

Whether you have an existing business intelligence or augmented analytics platform that you wish to upgrade or change, or you are exploring the potential of augmented analytics for your business user team and want to implement a Mobile BI environment to support your team within and outside the office, you can enjoy the benefits of this approach, with a cost-effective solution that is easy to implement and requires minimum training and roll-out time.

‘Your team needs flexible, mobile solutions to do their jobs in today’s high-stakes, competitive environment, and mobile BI is definitely among the solutions they need.’

If you want to support your  business user team, explore Smarten Mobile Augmented Analytics And Mobile BI, you can add powerful functionality and access for your business users with out-of-the-box Mobile BI and advanced analytics for every team member. For more information on Mobile BI and Augmented Analytics, read our article, ‘Understanding The Truth About Mobile BI.’