The Client is among the top five Food and Beverage (F&B) companies in India with a chain of several leading restaurant brands, and is known for being a trailblazer in its field.
Tag: Advanced Analytics for Business User
The Client is the largest global manufacturer of Air Coolers. The Client is an India-based Multi-National Company with a presence in over sixty (60) countries. As the market leader, this enterprise enjoys a prime position in the residential, industrial and commercial market segments and its brand is considered synonymous with cooling products in the global market. The Client is a market disrupter in what is a diverse and poorly organized sector and it has set the market benchmark with 201 trademarks, 64 registered designs, 15 copyrights and 48 patents, thereby setting the gold standard for air cooling in the global market.
Don’t Be Daunted by the Challenges of BI Tools. Self-Serve BI is the Answer!
Gartner research reveals that, ‘90% of corporate strategies will explicitly mention information as a critical enterprise asset and analytics as an essential competency.’ As business professionals, we all know that information is power and today, your business users are expected to know more and to keep pace with industry, market and customer changes that will negatively impact the business or have provide potential opportunities. But how do your team members achieve these goals when they are busier than ever, and the changes are coming more rapidly than ever!
‘Simple, self-serve BI tools can provide your business with the foundation to achieve your goals with features and tools like Social BI, Mobile BI, Embedded BI, etc.’
In this article, we will discuss the topic of modern business intelligence tools and solutions and the advantages of providing self-serve tools to your users for day-to-day analysis and intelligence gathering.
First, let’s look at some of the challenges you will need to consider when implementing self-serve BI tools:
Challenges of Self-Serve BI
- Technology Access and Infrastructure Readiness – Your IT, finance and management teams will need a comprehensive understanding of your current technology and infrastructure, the data hubs, data warehouses and software solutions (legacy, best-of-breed, ERP, etc.) that will provide the foundational data for your users. You will need a plan and a roadmap to integrate these into your business intelligence strategy. A modern, seamless BI solution can provide a simple solution for what might otherwise be a challenging situation. If you can easily integrate your data sources and make them available for data gathering and analytics, your users can leverage the data to report, share and collaborate.
- Team Member Adoption and Understanding – Your team will also need an understanding of the average technology skills of your business users and their willingness to adopt new tools and solutions. If your team members perceive that your BI tools are difficult to use, or if they are not educated on the need for and the benefits of self-serve business intelligence, they are unlikely to adopt the new tools. If, on the other hand, they see the value to their role and how it can make them more productive and streamline their work process; if they see that the solution is easy and intuitive to use, your business is less likely to face the challenges of team reluctance.
There are many other challenges and considerations that should inform your BI tools strategy, but these two are perhaps the most important.
Now, let’s consider some of the many benefits of self-serve business intelligence and how it can support your goals and simplify the lives of your business users:
Benefits of Self-Serve BI
- Social BI – Social BI allows users to champion the use of business intelligence. Power users and those who are curious by nature will create reports, share and collaborate, using easy-to-use tools and thereby encourage others to use the tools and to repurpose report formats etc. to achieve their own goals. Social BI allows business users to share, ‘like’ and perform tasks in a way that is similar to social networking and is therefore popular among business users.
- Mobile BI – Today’s team members often work remotely, or spend a lot of time on the road. By providing self-serve business intelligence that is intuitive to use and accessible on Android and iOS devices, the business can ensure that users will have seamless access and can accomplish tasks, search for information, share and collaborate, without missing a beat!
- Data Democratization and Data Literacy – If you want your team members to grow and add more value, you want to encourage data literacy and ensure data democratization. Move away from restricted data access and sole ownership of analytics by data scientists, IT and business analysts. Provide easy-to-use tools that allow for simple search analytics in a Google-type environment and will make it easier for reluctant business users to embrace your new BI solution and develop new data analytics skills they can use for fact-based decisions.
- User Adoption – There is nothing more frustrating than spending the time and money to implement a new solution, only to find that your users are resistant to using that solution. With true self-serve BI tools and intuitive data visualization, reporting, analytics and access, users will want to adopt the tools and share their discoveries with other team members.
- Embedded BI – If you want to leverage existing technology, improve your Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for your current solutions and infrastructure, consider that self-serve BI tools can be embedded into existing solutions. With embedded BI with Integration APIs, users can leverage familiar, favorite software solutions in a single sign-on environment, and find information within those solutions without having to learn complicated new techniques or fighting with data silos and transferring data from one place to another.
There are many other advantages to Self-Serve Business Intelligence. This short list should give you some ideas of how you can leverage these tools in your own business landscape.
‘As business professionals, we all know that information is power and today, your business users are expected to know more and to keep pace with industry, market and customer changes that will negatively impact the business or have provide potential opportunities.’
Business Intelligence solutions should include tools and techniques that make it easier to achieve data literacy and provide data analytics access to all business users. Simple, self-serve BI tools can provide your business with the foundation to achieve your goals with features and tools like Social BI, Mobile BI, Embedded BI, etc. Let us help you achieve your vision and improve productivity and insight across the organization.
Original Post : Let’s Discuss: Benefits and Challenges of Self-Serve BI!
Considering a Mobile BI App? Understand the WHAT of Mobile Augmented Analytics Before You Choose!
If your business is considering a Business Intelligence or BI tool or an augmented analytics tool for its business users, the addition of this type of tool can and will improve user adoption of analytics, data democratization and data literacy. As you consider your requirements, your user and technology needs and other factors, do not forget to add mobile BI tools and augmented analytics to your list of requirements. A BI Mobile App will further improve user adoption and fact-based decisions.
By some estimates the Mobile Business Intelligence Market is expected to achieve a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.43%
‘If a vendor or solution provides only SOME of the features and functionality business users require, the solution cannot truly be considered a Mobile BI app.’
In this article, we define Mobile BI and the concept of a Mobile Augmented Analytics App, so that your business can achieve a more complete picture of these tools.
Perhaps the best place to start this discussion is to define what Mobile BI is NOT.
What Mobile BI and Mobile Analytics is NOT
A true Mobile BI and Augmented Analytics App should not be restrictive. Limited views and access will only frustrate users.
Real Mobile BI is not just a series of static reports or limited access to data that would otherwise be available from within the walls of the enterprise.
What IS Mobile BI and Augmented Analytics?
Mobile Augmented Analytics is based on a comprehensive advanced analytics solution with sophisticated features, analytical algorithms and functionality designed for business users with average technical skills.
Mobile BI is designed to extend the augmented analytics environment beyond the walls of the enterprise and support remote work, team members who travel and those who wish to work while on the road.
A Mobile BI and Augmented Analytics App accommodates both Android and iOS devices so that users can access features, reporting, data sharing etc., on the device of their choice.
Mobile BI for Business Users is easy to implement and license and does not require extensive training.
Mobile Augmented Analytics provides a functional environment for analytics, extending the features the user leverages within the office on a desktop so that the user can analyze data with full access into datasets, dashboards and reports.
Mobile BI apps must present data appropriately, no matter the size of the screen or the resolution. Navigation must be easy and intuitive.
If a vendor or solution provides only SOME of the features and functionality business users require, the solution cannot truly be considered a Mobile BI app. Implementing data democracy initiatives to support the transition from business user to Citizen Data Scientist requires tools that can be used in a real work environment and that must include true mobile access to a comprehensive set of features.
Remember, your team members are also consumers who are used to access to all their favorite apps no matter where they are, and no matter which type of device they choose to use.
‘A BI Mobile App will further improve user adoption and fact-based decisions.’
Explore Smarten Mobile Augmented Analytics And Mobile BI and add powerful functionality and access for your business users with out-of-the-box Mobile BI and advanced analytics for every team member in your enterprise. For more information on Mobile BI and Augmented Analytics, read our articles, ‘The Importance of Adding a Mobile BI App to an Augmented Analytics Strategy’, and ‘What Should My Business Consider When Selecting a Mobile BI Solution?’
Original Post : What is True Mobile BI?
The Citizen Data Scientist Role and Benefits and How to Get Started!
Gartner has predicted that, ‘90% the world’s top 500 companies will have converged analytics governance into broader data and analytics governance initiatives.’ If you wish to compete, your business will want to follow the lead of these top companies. By incorporating analytics into day-to-day activities and allowing access for business users, the business can encourage the transition from business user to Citizen Data Scientist and create a comprehensive system of analytics with governance and collaboration to ensure security, appropriate access, mobile use and fact-based decision-making.
‘The path to Citizen Data Scientist does not have to be fraught with uncertainty.’
If you are a team member in a business environment, your role within that business is unique. But, it doesn’t matter what your role is or what your responsibilities are, it doesn’t matter what tasks or activities you must perform, you need good, solid data to make effective, fact-based decisions. And, your decisions must be swift because business is moving at the speed of light! Add to this the fact that your responsibilities seem to grow in scope and depth every day, and you can see how crucial it is to have the right support and solutions to help you achieve your goals.
If you are considering a transition to Citizen Data Scientist, or your business management team has informed you of their intent to make that transition, you probably have a lot of questions about the process and the role.
What is a Citizen Data Scientist?
Citizen Data Scientists are not business analysts or data scientists. They are business users and team members within the organization. The typical profile of an ideal Citizen Data Scientist is a person who is respected within the organization, and often shares data and information with other users to collaborate and produce outcomes that are designed to achieve goals and objectives and produce a successful outcome. These individuals may already be ‘power users’ of business applications and may have developed and reported or presented data to others with an eye toward clarifying their decision-making. Citizen Data Scientist candidates may also be IT team members who are interested in data science. In any case, these candidates will typically be uniquely curious, interested in data analytics and devoted to fact-based decisions and team collaboration. To fulfill the role of Citizen Data Scientists, business users will leverage augmented analytics solutions; that is analytics that provide simple recommendations and suggestions to help users easily choose visualization and predictive analytics techniques from within the analytical tool without the need for expert analytical skills.
Why is it important to implement a Citizen Data Scientist Program?
Business users can leverage domain and primary skills and expertise to gain insight into results using augmented analytics. Your team can interact with and collaborate with IT and data scientists to define business use cases and refine outcomes, and users are empowered to use analytical tools to hypothesize, prototype, forecast and predict, so the organization can identify issues, challenges and results prior to implementing changes in pricing, products, customer outreach, organizational structure, and all manner of operational decisions. The Citizen Data Scientist initiative will improve the accuracy of decisions, and allow users to share data and models with other users, thereby adding value to the organization. The enterprise can create and manage goals and objectives using measurable data and can improve time to market and make better decisions. The Citizen Data Scientist approach is crucial to sustained competitive advantage and to nurturing human resource assets, improving productivity and making the right decisions at the right time. Businesses and users can get ahead of the curve in the market and enable true collaboration.
‘The business can encourage the transition from business user to Citizen Data Scientist and create a comprehensive system of analytics.’
When a business makes the decision to implement a Citizen Data Scientist initiative, it must have a clear vision of the path to get business users to a new role, and to support those users with the augmented analytics tools and cultural changes required to encourage user adoption of analytics solutions and techniques. The path to Citizen Data Scientist does not have to be fraught with uncertainty. With the right cultural changes and management and technology support, the team can improve data literacy and encourage data democratization. Training is a key component of this success. But it needn’t be a lengthy, complex process.
An in-person or online training program that introduces the role and provides examples of Use Cases and Case Studies can help business users see how these tools might be used within the confines of their own role in the organization.
Explore the options her: One-Day In-Person Or Online Workshop For Citizen Data Scientists or Self-Paced eLearning Citizen Data Scientist sessions.
Find out more about the Citizen Data Scientist Path, Citizen Data Scientist Training and Augmented Analytics. We can help your business succeed and improve user adoption and data literacy.
Original Post : The What, Why and How of the Citizen Data Scientist Role!
How Should My Citizen Data Scientists Work with Data Scientists and Analysts?
Gartner has predicted that, ‘30% of organizations will harness the collective intelligence of their analytics communities, outperforming competitors that rely solely on centralized analytics or self-service.’ What does this mean for business Citizen Data Scientist initiatives? It does NOT mean that the organization should turn away from this type of initiative. What it DOES mean is that a business should recognize the value and purpose of each aspect of its analytical community.
Think of What Citizen Data Scientists Can Do to Help Your Business!
Whether you have recently been nominated to become a Citizen Data Scientist or you are considering the value of this type of transition for your business, managers and team members alike often ask exactly what a Citizen Data Scientist can do. According to technology research firm, Gartner, the number of Citizen Data Scientists will grow at five times the rate of traditional data scientists. If that’s the case, there must be something to this trend, right?
The technology research firm, Gartner has predicted that, ‘predictive and prescriptive analytics will attract 40% of net new enterprise investment in the overall business intelligence and analytics market.’ When combined with Citizen Data Scientist initiatives, the adoption and use of predictive modeling and forecasting techniques can be a boon to any enterprise. Team members who have access to augmented analytics and assisted predictive modeling can plan better, predict more accurately and dependably meet goals and objectives.
Smarten is pleased to announce the launch of its FREE online Citizen Data Scientist course. This self-paced, online Citizen Data Scientist course can help businesses make the most of the Citizen Data Scientist experience by providing foundational training for business users who are Citizen Data Scientist candidate. It is also suitable for those that wish to find out more about the Citizen Data Scientist approach to Data Literacy and fact-based decision-making. It provides an individual study environment that includes video, slides, lectures and supporting documentation for further study and reference.
Smarten CEO, Kartik Patel says, ‘This comprehensive, free online course is designed to support businesses and individuals who wish to pursue, or are interested in finding out more about, the Citizen Data Scientist journey. The Smarten advanced analytics product suite was specifically designed to support business users and those with average technology skills and offers sophisticated analytics tools in an intuitive, easy-to-use environment and this self-paced course material is a natural extension of the self-serve Smarten Augmented Analytics approach.’
This Free Citizen Data Scientist Course describes the Citizen Data Scientist role, and its benefits to team members and the organization, including improved data literacy, support for user adoption of augmented analytics tools, and an understanding of the basic algorithms and analytical techniques used in the process. There are no prerequisites for this course. It is intended for business and technology users and team members within the business environment.
“By the end of this course, participants will understand the role and value of Citizen Data Scientists and the benefits to the organization, as well as the integration points and cultural shifts that will position analytical professionals and Citizen Data Scientists to work more productively,” Patel says. “ Participants will gain a basic understanding of applicable analytical techniques, including predictive analytics, how to apply these techniques to real world business use cases and the augmented analytics tools they can use to make fact-based decisions and move the organization forward. We believe this course can play a valuable role in moving an enterprise and its users toward a more data literate environment.”
By providing this course as a free online offering Smarten hopes to further support and encourage users and businesses to embrace the very real benefits of the Citizen Data Scientist approach to analytics and objective, data-driven metrics and results.
Begin the Citizen Data Scientist Journey now, or contact the Smarten team for more information on Smarten Augmented Analytics solution.
About Smarten
The Smarten approach to business intelligence and business analytics focuses on the business user and provides Advanced Data Discovery so users can perform early prototyping and test hypotheses without the skills of a data scientist. Smarten Augmented Analytics tools include Assisted Predictive Modeling, Smart Data Visualization, Self-Serve Data Preparation, Sentiment Analysis, and Clickless Analytics with natural language processing (NLP) for search analytics. All of these tools are designed for business users with average skills and require no special skills or knowledge of statistical analysis or support from IT or data scientists. Smarten is listed in multiple Gartner Reports including Gartner Data Preparation Report, the Market Guide for Enterprise-Reporting-Based Platforms and the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms Report for the ElegantJ BI Business Intelligence Suite.
Original Post : Smarten Announces Free Online Citizen Data Scientist Course Available to All!
Business Users & Data Scientists Benefit from Citizen Data Scientist Initiatives!
A business that does not optimize its resources is doomed to fail. In this rapidly changing business environment and market, every organization must make the best of precious human resources. No one has enough funding to hire additional resources to get the job done and, when there are extra funds, those funds are quickly earmarked for new products, marketing and other crucial activities.
