Business Intelligence: What is it, benefits and importance

Nowadays, we deal with a huge amount of data everywhere. However, having all the information is only useful if you know how to manage it through different strategies, such as those taught in our Master in Big Data.

And did you know that this data management has a specific name in English? It is called Business Intelligence, which translates as “business intelligence.”

What is Business Intelligence?

Also known as BI by its acronym, it is the set of tools, programs and strategies that convert business data into useful and friendly information. In short, it helps companies make better decisions when it comes to data.

There are examples of this concept that you will see almost everywhere. For example, knowing how to generate reports and graphs that everyone can understand from data is business intelligence. The same goes for so-called data mining, which uses statistics and databases with machine learning to identify trends.

It is actually an older term than it seems. Did you know that it was first mentioned in 1865? However, the modern concept did not occur until the 1950s, when Peter Luhn, a researcher at IBM, realized the importance of data analytics. Later, various applications would arrive, which improved little by little until they reached the level of precision and usefulness of today, where it is vital due to the enormous information that circulates on the network.

Benefits of Business Intelligence

What is Business Intelligence for? A company that is capable of mastering it will be able to analyze information much better, both external and internal. You will get data quickly from various sources and get useful and readable information for everyone.

What’s more, a company of this type will carry out very deep and detailed analyses, positioning itself above its competitors. Speaking of which, to compete you have to take the past into account, something that we can control with BI tools. Simply check the data from the past and analyze the evolution.

If BI allows you to travel to the past, it also allows you to travel to the future. How is it done? With the control and analysis of data to draw trends. This allows us to make quite accurate projections and forecasts for the future.

Importance of Business Intelligence

Do you ask yourself questions? Businessmen do, and continuously. They wonder if the money they are investing is generating wealth, if there is an inefficient department or if a worker is productive, among other things. Before the existence of BI, it was difficult to answer the company’s questions and things were done blindly.

Thanks to business intelligence and its tools, you can know exactly what is happening and predict what will happen. That’s vital to increasing return on investment, reducing resource waste and focusing on what matters. At the same time, BI helps with continuous improvement, as it reveals information about how customers think and their trends.

How does Business Intelligence work?

The way BI works in the modern world is based on data and its interpretation. If you want to dedicate yourself to this, you will have to study Big Data, so that you learn to use the necessary programs to manage it. As a specialist, you will solve problems and queries through the data you have obtained and interpreted.

The data analyst specialized in business intelligence will master different tools to maximize business intelligence and reach this point. There are three types of tools:

  • Data mining (data discovery or data mining):
  • They are the tools in charge of obtaining new data and evaluating it, in order to make future projections.
  • Data management (data management):
  • They are responsible for making the extracted data readable, purifying and standardizing. Afterwards, they transfer the useful data to the department that needs it.
  • Reporting:
  • Once that information has been obtained, you will need to easily display the data. To do this, these tools are used, which show graphs, images or reports that are easy to read and interpretable by people without knowledge of BI to carry out strategies based on the information obtained. In short, it is what converts data into money.

For example, if the organization wants to know what the return on investment in Google advertising is compared to last year, the specialist will analyze the data for both years. Using different tools, you will obtain data on advertising performance.

Once it receives the data, it will clean and filter it, getting only what you need. For example, you’ll need the click-through rate, money spent, and number of sales, but you may not need the number of organic searches. Finally, you will create a graph comparing the two exercises and pass it on to the appropriate department.

Functions of Business Intelligence

It is clear that this profession has a great future and if you like it, you will not lack work or remuneration. Of course, you will have to be useful to the company in certain areas.

What does an expert Business Intelligence consultant do? These are some of its functions:

  • Get data and organize it so it is actionable
  • Guarantee the security, integrity and high availability of that data
  • Identify errors
  • Analyze and predict future trends
  • Prepare personalized reports based on what was obtained, which are easy to read and interpret
  • Create strategies and compare with the past

 

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