Just like a mechanic requires a toolbox to do their job, professionals looking forward to working in business intelligence must get familiar with various software tools. Business intelligence consists of strategies, functions, and various tools organizations use to gather, transform and analyze given data.
These intelligence tools help identify new business opportunities and improve their ROI – return on investment. They also help organizations gain an edge over their competitors, keeping them ahead. As a result, these tools are used in most departments and industries.
Table of Contents-
- What are Business Intelligence Tools?
- Why are Business Intelligence Tools Used?
- Most Popular Business Intelligence Tools
- Which one should You Choose?
- Conclusion
What are Business Intelligence Tools?
Business Intelligence can be understood as tools made to analyze, retrieve and transform data for business intelligence. These tools can read data generally stored in a database though this is only sometimes the case, and often, they are used on unstructured data gathered from internal and external sources.
The data in these databases can vary from documents to journals, emails, audio, video, books, files, and other types. You can learn more about business intelligence and its tools by opting for a power BI course. Business Intelligence tools use queries to gather information and present the data in a way that is easy to read and user-friendly in graphs, charts, dashboards, and reports. These tools have various functions, such as data visualization, data mining, text mining, reporting, analytics, and predictive analytics.
Why are Business Intelligence Tools Used?
The main reason to use business intelligence tools is to use the information provided by these tools to make good business decisions and predictions which are based on key performance indicators and market trends. Let us look at a few other reasons-
- Reducing Business Costs- Business Intelligence tools can analyze customer buying patterns and produce sales forecasting on a real-time monitor. It can also analyze, plan and report this data accurately and efficiently. This reduces the need for manpower, saves business costs, and helps increase revenue.
- Making Predictions- Business Intelligence tools help users access past and present data. Due to this, organizations can make decisions based on evidence from the past. This helps predict and forecast a product based on its past performance. If things change in the current market, these tools can even consider them and make an accurate prediction.
- Automating Data Reports- Organizations no longer need to go through the frustrating process of manually entering data using various tools. Business Intelligence tools can help automate data entry. They can create automatic reports for users based on their needs. They can also represent these data by several methods, such as graphs and charts making it easy to read. As a result, they help organizations save both time and money.
Most Popular Business Intelligence Tools
- Microsoft Power BI
It is the market’s most widely used and popular business intelligence tool, produced by the well-known software giant Microsoft. Microsoft Power BI is a software that can be easily downloadable and run analytics on cloud and reporting servers. Microsoft Power BI can be used in sync with Oracle, Facebook, and other websites to create dashboards and reports in just a few minutes. Artificial intelligence functions are available and can perform data connectors and Excel integration. It also provides real-time access to monitor and end-to-end data encryption.
1. Tableau
This software is well known for its data visualization abilities to produce data in a user-friendly way. In addition, it offers live visual analytics, which is used to analyze quick trends in the data. It also supports Google Analytics, Microsoft Excel, PDFs, Box, and more.
2. Dundas BI
This business tool is based on a browser and was created in 1992. It is well known for its interactive dashboards, visual analytics, and reports. Dundas BI is quite simple to use and is very flexible. It also allows drag-and-drop functions for its users, which is similar to Tableau.
Which one should You Choose?
Power BI is the industry’s most widely used power Business Intelligence tool. However, it is ideal for a beginner and an expert. Let us look at some reasons why you should choose Microsoft BI.
- Easy to Use – It has a very simple setup and can be easily understood without formal training. In addition, it is beginner friendly and includes many dashboard services.
- Information Based on Real-Time – Dashboards in Power BI update in real time, which help users identify problems and opportunities quickly.
- Artificial Intelligence – The BI tool has built-in features such as text analytics, image recognition, etc.
- Integration with Cortana – This intelligence tool works in integration with Microsoft Cortana. It allows users to execute various tools of the BI verbally, making it more mobile-friendly and easy to use.
- Streamline Distribution and Publication- Because of Power BI, users no longer need to share or upload large data files on a server. Instead, they can simply share data visualizations and reports with the help of the intelligence tool, and it can be refreshed in real-time when the data is updated.
Conclusion
Professionals looking forward to working in business intelligence must be familiar with various intelligence tools. These Business Intelligence tools are valuable in helping organizations make good business-based decisions. It also helps them cut costs and increase revenue. It is recommended that professionals learn the Power BI tool as it is perfect for both a beginner and an expert. It is superior to other Business Intelligence tools and is easy to use with a user-friendly interface. Professionals should also get a certification to show their competency in intelligence tools.
