Tag: BI Tools

Should My Business Choose Traditional BI or Augmented Analytics?

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March 18, 2026

What’s the Difference Between Traditional BI and Augmented Analytics?

Whether you are considering a first-time implementation of business intelligence (BI) software, or you wish to upgrade your existing installation to include new features and technology, the market for BI tools and augmented analytics solutions can be confusing. Adding to the confusion are the seemingly conflicting predictions of research firms.

Gartner Predicted that, ‘Transitioning from a data-driven to a decision-centric vision is crucial. Prioritizing urgent business decisions for modeling, aligning decision intelligence (DI) practices, and evaluating DI platforms are recommended steps.’

So, will data-driven reporting, simple metrics and alerts be enough to drive your business into the future? Should your organization select a traditional BI tools, a ‘modern data quality solution,’ or review and select multiple analytics solutions to meet varying requirements across the enterprise?

‘Every enterprise has different needs, a different culture and varying business user, IT and data scientist requirements. As you review the capabilities of Traditional BI and Augmented Analytics, analyze the suite of services and functionality and compare those to the needs of your users and your organization.’

To help you answer these questions, it is important to first understand the difference between traditional Business Intelligence and Augmented Analytics.

Should My Enterprise Choose Traditional BI Tools, Augmented Analytics or Both?

Traditional BI Tools

Traditional BI tools support power business users with self-serve report creation without the need for advanced technical skills, SQL skills or IT assistance. To improve accuracy and outcomes, enterprise business users who are working on day-to-day projects and activities need access to easy-to-use, intuitive tools that allow for swift, accurate action and decisions. With an integrated, mobile approach to BI tools, business users can leverage personalized dashboards, multidimensional key performance indicators, and KPI tools, report software, Crosstab & Tabular reports, GeoMaps and deep dive analytics and enjoy Social BI and collaboration.

Features include:

  • Personalized Dashboard
  • Multidimensional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  • Deep-Dive Analytics
  • Social BI tools for data sharing
  • Graphical Analysis and Cross-Tab Analytics for Intuitive reporting
  • What-If Analysis to test pricing, budget and cost information
  • GeoMap support with interactive maps
  • Out-of-the-Box Mobile BI tools for access from anywhere
  • Personalized alerts
  • Real time and cached data management
  • R Integration for all with no programming experience required
  • Intuitive, informative reporting
  • Publishing and delivery agent

Augmented Analytics Solutions

Augmented Analytics solutions are designed with intuitive, sophisticated features that take users beyond basic BI tools to enable swift gathering and analysis of trends, patterns, opportunities and challenges. Augmented Analytics solutions include self-serve data preparation, smart data visualization, assisted predictive modeling and natural language processing (NLP) foundational search analytics so users can ask a simple question and get a simple answer without coding or queries. This type of solution includes key influencer analytics, anomaly detection, alerts, clickless analytics and other tools designed to support the transformation of business users to Citizen Data Scientists and to increase data literacy in the enterprise.

Augmented analytics that is designed with sophisticated features for use by team members, IT, data scientists and others, provides many advanced features and enables improved data literacy and data democratization across the enterprise. With products and modules that include self-serve data preparation and ETL for business users, predictive analytics with auto-suggestions and recommendations to help users choose the right predictive modeling techniques, and smart data visualization with recommendations for the type of visualization best suited for a particular type of data, the users can make choices confidently and gain insight into issues without the programming or data science knowledge needed in decades past. Embedded BI with integration APIs allows users to leverage single sign-on within familiar software and perform analytics from within that solution.

Features Include:

  • Sentiment Analysis
  • Assisted Predictive Modeling
  • Key Influencer Analysis
  • Clickless Analytics with Natural Language Processing (NLP) and easy ‘Google-type’ searches and queries
  • Auto Insights and toolsets that leverage machine learning
  • Anomaly Monitoring and Alerts

Features are designed to support Citizen Data Scientists and organizational transformation for Data Literacy.

‘Should your organization select a traditional BI tools, a ‘modern data quality solution,’ or review and select multiple analytics solutions to meet varying requirements across the enterprise?’

Every enterprise has different needs, a different culture and varying business user, IT and data scientist requirements. As you review the capabilities of Traditional BI and Augmented Analytics, analyze the suite of services and functionality and compare those to the needs of your users and your organization.

You may wish to implement Augmented Analytics across the enterprise and elevate data literacy and the access and use of advanced analytics across your user organization, or you may wish to focus on specific metrics, data monitoring and reporting to address unique needs or targeted goals within the organization.

Some organizations choose to leverage both the Traditional BI and the Modern BI and Augmented Analytics approach to ensure that all user and enterprise needs are addressed and avoid the one-size-fits-all approach. By giving their users, IT team, executives and business analysts the tools they need, they can align their data gathering and analytics with their strategic goals and operational objectives.

The choice is yours!

Contact Us to discuss the unique needs of your organization and your users and find out more about Smarten Technology. Explore our free article: ‘Which BI Or Analytics Tool Is Best For My Business?’

Original Post : Should My Business Choose Traditional BI or Augmented Analytics?

Mobile BI Tools Are Not Just Nice to Have, They Are A Necessity

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February 18, 2026

Mobile BI Tools Support Users and a Competitive Strategy

No matter the size of your business or the industry or market in which you compete, the importance of business intelligence (BI) and self-serve augmented analytics is no longer in question. Nearly every business is using some form of business intelligence today and, if your business is not, you are already behind the competition!

When we consider the growth of this important solution market, we find that the mobile market for business intelligence solutions is growing exponentially and that is not surprising. Today’s workforce is mobile and, even where employees work onsite, their work will take them away from a desk and into a manufacturing or production environment, or perhaps within the walls of a hospital, a university, a retail store, etc.

‘The shift to mobile BI tools is not just a matter of convenience. It is crucial that your team remain informed and that they have the tools they need to collaborate, share and present data, whether they are on the road, with a client or in an airport. This flexibility reflects the evolving business environment and the need for agility.’

A recent Mordor Intelligence Report revealed that the 2025 market size for mobile business intelligence was 19.33 billion USD and that the 2030 projected market size is 55.56 billion USD.

While many businesses rely solely on BI solutions and look to their team to implement and use these solutions, the growth of business intelligence services is also of note. The complexity of technology landscapes, in-house vs. cloud implementations, security and regulatory and industry compliance, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) add-ons and integration have created an environment that is often best served by expert services.

These services can help businesses to personalize and customize their approach and to provide meaningful mobile BI tools, embedded BI for familiar best-of-breed and legacy software solutions and other tools that will support end users and make the team more productive.

User accessibility and ease-of-use are paramount considerations. The shift to mobile BI tools is not just a matter of convenience. It is crucial that your team remain informed and that they have the tools they need to collaborate, share and present data, whether they are on the road, with a client or in an airport. This flexibility reflects the evolving business environment and the need for agility.

Whether you are a sales manager, a media executive, a healthcare provider or a business analyst, it is important to have access to a suite of BI tools that will help you gather and analyze business data using mobile devices.

Why is Mobile Business Intelligence Important for My Business in Today’s Work Environment?

The team needs interactive data tools and tools that enable sharing and collaboration, reporting and sophisticated analytics – all with dependable security. Users should also be able to tailor their mobile BI tools to suit their role and preferences and integrate the use of these tools within workflow to foster a data-driven, fact-based culture.

‘Today’s workforce is mobile and, even where employees work onsite, their work will take them away from a desk and into a manufacturing or production environment, or perhaps within the walls of a hospital, a university, a retail store, etc.’

Look for a mobile BI tool that will:

  • Support a native mobile environment for Android and iOS, with an intuitive user experience (Ux).
  • Provide access rights defined at the server level with appropriate security and privacy at all levels.
  • Accommodate hosting within the IT infrastructure, on-premises or in public or private cloud environs.
  • Provide users with access to dashboards, reports, and clickless analytics with a natural language processing (NLP) search function.
  • Provide expertise and services that are appropriate for the needs of your organization.

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.’

Original Post : Mobile BI Tools Are Not Just Nice to Have, They Are A Necessity!

Case Study : Augmented Analytics for India Electrical Sector Organization Focused on Testing, R&D and Certification

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February 10, 2026

The Client is a premier not-for-profit institution in India, established as an independent organization with strong government and industry backing, and widely recognized for leadership in the electrical power testing, certification, inspection, and research domain.

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Case Study : Augmented Analytics for India-Based Municipal Corporation to Support Smart City Initiative

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January 30, 2026

The Client is one of the largest municipal corporations in India, and is responsible for delivering essential civic services, i.e., water supply, sewage treatment, solid waste management, road infrastructure, public health, education, and environmental programs for an urban population of over 3.1 million citizens.

Continue reading “Case Study : Augmented Analytics for India-Based Municipal Corporation to Support Smart City Initiative”

Should I Choose a BI Tool with On-Premises or Cloud-Based Storage?

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January 21, 2026

Is Cloud-Based or On-Premises Data Access Best for BI Tools?

There are many considerations your business much include in a business intelligence (BI) and augmented analytics decision. When reviewing analytics software and solutions, remember that data storage and data management is a crucial decision. Ease of access, the speed of that access, dependable storage and security and other factors must be considered.

‘Scalable technology infrastructure and architecture and support for on-premises, private cloud or public cloud implementation is crucial to support future growth and enable your users with easy, secured access to information and seamless response.’

When you consider the technical foundation of the product and services, you must decide between a solution that resides on premises and one that is cloud-based.

Cloud-Based: This relies on third-party servers to support software and data and accesses information via a secured internet connections using a cloud environment, providing a flexible, scalable approach and allowing the enterprise to access software and features without using its own resources, IT support, and hardware.

On-Premises: This option uses in-house, enterprise hardware and infrastructure and businesses often choose to go this route retain control and provide assured security. It is important to note that some solutions store the BI tool in the cloud, while data is stored on premises, and this can create issues with delays and latency.

Gartner Predicts that, ‘Demand for integration capabilities, agile work processes and composable architecture will drive continued shift to the cloud.’

If you are choosing an analytics product, a business intelligence (BI) solution or augmented analytics, consider a vendor that allows you to choose between on-premises or a cloud-based approach, and provides the flexibility to change that approach without having to change your software or vendor.

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Work with your IT partner, to develop requirements and include the following factors in your requirements:

  • Business Strategy for Growth and Number of Locations and Users
  • Security and Standards Compliance
  • Ongoing Access to Technical Experts
  • Clear, Flexible Management of Data Sources, and Data Access
  • Location of the Data Sources – On Premises or Cloud
  • Affordability of Solution and Support and Maintenance Services
  • Performance, Scalability, Flexibility
  • Product and Service Support for Future Upgrade, User Needs, and Digital Transformation (Dx)

A flexible, low-code, no-code analytics platform with scalable technology infrastructure and architecture and support for on-premises, private cloud or public cloud implementation (including Amazon, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and other options) is crucial to support future growth and enable your users with easy, secured access to information and seamless response. Consult your IT partner to decide on your data storage and access approach based on data velocity, data sources and locations, data security and governance policies and your required return on investment (ROI).

The location of data sources is a paramount consideration when choosing between on-premises and cloud business intelligence. Pushing large volumes of ERP or CRM data from an on-premises location to the cloud BI tool will affect scalability and can cause delays. When considering a business intelligence solution, include a review of the architecture and data access, as well as vendor IT policies and security standards.

‘When reviewing analytics software and solutions, remember that data storage and data management is a crucial decision. Access, speed of access, dependable storage and security and other factors must be considered.’

Contact Us to discuss the needs of your organization and your users and find out more about Smarten Technology. The process of choosing the right Analytics Solution for your business 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?’

Original Post : Should I Choose a BI Tool with On-Premises or Cloud-Based Storage?

Which BI or Analytics Tool is Best for My Business?

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January 5, 2026

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.’

A 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?’

Original Post : Which BI or Analytics Tool is Best for My Business?

Should I Choose Cloud-Based or On-Premises Business Intelligence?

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December 10, 2025

Choosing Between Cloud and On-Premises Augmented Analytics

Your business may be upgrading a business intelligence solution OR it may be considering the implementation of business intelligence (BI) for the first time. Either way, you will be faced with numerous decisions as you navigate the augmented analytics market and look for the right product and solution for your team and your organization.

Considerations include pricing, features, ease-of-use, data storage and data management location, and the capability of the solution to support upgrade and growth. When it comes to the technical foundation of the product and services, you will need to decide whether to choose a solution that resides on premises or one that is cloud-based.

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of this decision is advanced planning and anticipating the changing needs of the organization. If you are choosing an advanced analytics product, a business intelligence or augmented analytics solutions, you may wish to select a vendor that allows you to choose an on-premises OR cloud-based approach, with the flexibility to change your approach in the future WITHOUT having to change the software your team has adopted – the one they now understand and use on a daily basis.

On-Premises: Software is hosted onsite using enterprise hardware and infrastructure. Some businesses choose this option because they wish to retain control and provide assured security.

Cloud-Based: When a business chooses this option, it relies on third-party servers to support the software and data and accesses information via secured internet connections using cloud. This option provides a flexible, scalable approach and allows the enterprise to access software and features without the need for its own resources, IT support, and hardware expense.

Gartner Has Predicted that, ‘Demand for integration capabilities, agile work processes and composable architecture will drive continued shift to the cloud.’

On-Premises vs Cloud-Based BI Tools: Consider Your Enterprise Requirements

To choose the right solution, work with your IT partner, to consider:

  • Strategy for Business Growth
  • Industry, Government Security Compliance
  • Availability of and Access to Technical Experts
  • Ability to Easily Manage Data Sources, Data Access, etc.
  • Cost of Solution and Support and Maintenance
  • Performance, Scalability, Flexibility
  • Support for Upgrade, Future Needs, Digital Transformation (Dx)

Look for a flexible, low-code, no-code analytics platform with scalable technology infrastructure and architecture that offers on-premises, private cloud or public cloud implementation for Amazon, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and other options. Your IT consulting partner will help you decide on your approach based on data velocity, data sources and locations, data security and governance policies and your desired return on investment (ROI).

Contact Us to discuss your analytical needs and to find out more about Smarten Technology, Architecture And Infrastructure, and the process of choosing the right Analytics Solution for your business. Explore our White Paper: ‘Enabling Business Optimization And Expense Reduction Through The Use Of Augmented Analytics,’ and our free article, ‘How Does Low Code And No Code Development Support BI Tools?’

Original Post: Should I Choose Cloud-Based or On-Premises Business Intelligence?

Mobile BI Supports User Access and Adoption and Improves Results

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October 15, 2025

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.’

Original Post : Mobile BI Supports User Access and Adoption and Improves Results!

Case Study : Customer Churn Prediction for India-Based Pharmacy and Wellness Business

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September 25, 2025

The Client owns a leading specialty chain of pharmacy and wellness stores in Ahmedabad, India, providing pharmaceuticals, medications, and wellness products to the community and consumers. As a component of its business, it sponsors a popular customer loyalty program. The Smarten model demonstrated remarkable performance, achieving 98% accuracy in predicting customer churn on the testing dataset.

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