As managers everywhere already know, decision-making is by no means an easy task, and it can either help an organization navigate towards a better future or contribute to its downfall. In fact, being a good manager means making the best choices possible under a given set of circumstances. This is, however, a complex process, and it often involves correctly identifying a situation, gathering data, and assessing different solutions. Until recently, decision-making relied heavily on intuition, as well as experience. The process became even more complicated as time passed, and managers needed to keep up with bigger amounts of data. Nowadays, however, BI can help them make smarter decisions faster than ever before.
What is BI, and how can it help managers everywhere?
BI or Business Intelligence is a set of different technologies, strategies, software solutions, and processes used by companies around the world to collect, integrate, and analyze business data, and better the decision-making process. The main goal of these features is to advance the decision-making process by transforming information into actionable insights. Managers everywhere can later use these insights to make smarter choices, even if they work under pressure or in difficult conditions. To sum up, BI technologies allow managers to make smart choices faster than usual, thus improving both the decision-making process and the result.
BI is a complex solution to a complex problem that managers face every day – analyzing a vast amount of data before making a decision. BI is also a multi-layer solution, and it usually requires at least six steps:
1. Collecting the best information
BI software usually collects data from various sources, such as internal and external databases, spreadsheets, and cloud services. This information is usually available from different sales transactions, customer feedback, as well as financial records.
2. Integrating data
BI solutions can also help managers access the data with ease, as they collect information from various sources and centralize it into a single platform. This process is called ETL (Extract, Transform, Load), and it allows managers to access formatted data instead of raw information that could prove difficult to use.
3. Storing information
Considering the large amount of data now available for managers everywhere, storing information can be just as problematic as integrating it. BI software not only collects and cleans the data, it also stores the information in a data warehouse or data mart. This makes data readily accessible for reporting and analysis.
4. Using analytical tools
Raw data can be impractical for managers, and that is precisely why BI solutions often rely on analytical tools to uncover different patterns, trends, and insights that can be used effectively. This step involves automatically applying statistical analysis and/or predictive analytics to the raw data.
5. Clear visualization
Managers also needed a better way to access the data and visualize the information available. BI software provides them with reports, dashboards, and charts that are easy to work with, even if the managers in question are non-technical users.
6. Supporting better decisions
By providing managers with all the features listed above, BI software allows them to make better decisions faster. Moreover, BI systems are not only useful to business leaders. They can also help decision-makers at all levels of an organization to make better choices, thus improving overall strategy and performance.
In a nutshell, BI software is extremely useful for companies and organizations around the world, as it can help managers at all levels make better choices on a daily basis. By automating the reporting process and reducing the manual effort of analyzing the data, BI solutions also increase efficiency and provide companies with an important competitive advantage.
Do managers need BI solutions?
No question that making the best decisions possible can prove to be a hard task even for experienced managers. In fact, a recent study shows that 85% of leaders have ended up either regretting a decision they have made during the past year, feeling guilty about its results, or questioning their choice. This can cause managers to experience an increasing amount of stress and anxiety at work. Moreover, research shows that stress exposure influences basic neural circuits involved in reward processing and learning, ultimately affecting the decision-making process. BI software can help managers avoid this vicious cycle and enjoy better results.
Moreover, 94% of business leaders have also declared they have used alternative solutions, changing their decision-making process during the last three years. This information shows that managers everywhere continue to look for the best solutions available to improve their decision-making process. Furthermore, 97% of leaders have also stated that they would benefit from using data to improve this process, demonstrating a real need for effective BI software. Business leaders are undoubtedly open to using new technologies in order to make the best decisions, and data-driven solutions seem to be preferred.
The Future of Business Intelligence
One of the most important statistics that demonstrates just how useful BI solutions are is the fact that incorrect data is now believed to cost the US economy $3.1 trillion each year. This impression seems to be sustained by the fact that 72% of business leaders said that the amount of data and their lack of trust in its accuracy has stopped them from making any decision recently. Moreover, decision-makers have also stated that the vast amount of information they need to analyze at work has taken a toll on their professional and personal lives, complicating both fields for 86% of managers.
BI software provides managers from all over the world with an opportunity to deal with these problems. Some of these new technologies can enable them to exploit useful information for decision-making. Furthermore, it can also help companies surpass their competitors, enhance their overall performance, and lighten the current pressures facing managers and business leaders. The BI market size was worth $29.42 billion globally in 2023 and will subsequently grow up to $54.27 billion by 2030. This shows that there is a growing trend of companies across the globe now adopting BI solutions.
