BI system for business: capabilities, features, advantages

The range of modern businesses includes a huge variety of specialized programs and tools designed to simplify tasks, automate some of them, and provide the most comprehensive approach to collecting information. One of such solutions, which is already in service with a fairly impressive number of entrepreneurs, is the Business Intelligence system or, as it is commonly called, the BI system. Here is a set of programs and tools for modern business, with the help of which you can collect data from all sorts of sources, automatically process them and present them in the form of visual reports.

The functionality of this solution includes the collection and processing of even large data arrays, as well as their transformation into tables, charts, graphs that are simple and easy to perceive. With this information, you can easily track trends in business, identify existing problems and find optimal ways to eliminate them. Alternatively, with the help of a BI system, you can see which of the launched advertising channels gave the maximum increase in orders for a specific product or service. If earlier, to obtain the relevant information, you had to view different reports, study all the metrics presented in them, find out where exactly the orders were entered from and sort those where the position you were studying was presented. After that, all the information was summarized into a single report. And only after that it was possible to study it. Now, thanks to the BI system, all this data, along with the conclusions, will be on your screen literally a couple of minutes after launching the tool.

As part of today's review, get to know in more detail what the Business Intelligence system is, what functionality it has. We will tell you which businesses and which specialists should use it in practice. We will provide a number of recommendations that will allow you to implement tools in your business processes as correctly as possible, as well as the most common mistakes that users make at this stage.

The main purpose of BI systems

Modern BI systems are used to collect, store, structure and display information in a visual form. If the volume of data is too large, it is better to provide separate equipment to ensure the operability of this tool, as well as professional and regular technical support. The system allows you to connect a large number of users. At the same time, each of them will have their own dashboard — the program window where all the graphs, charts, tables, and analytical information about the business will be displayed.

It is convenient that each employee can make individual settings, specifying only those parameters that he will need in his work. For example, a person working in the logistics department will receive information about the availability of goods in warehouses in certain regions, will be able to track balances, and plan replenishment. A marketer will collect data on launched advertising campaigns through the BI system, evaluating their effectiveness and identifying existing problems. If at some point in the work additional analytical data is required, then it will be possible to generate an additional report in the system, including the necessary parameters. But we would like to immediately draw attention to the fact that this option is not available to everyone. It is important to have the appropriate access rights, as well as the knowledge and skills to work with the system.

Most similar analytics collection services provide information in such a form that it can be conveniently stored. And at the same time, few people think about the fact that people will have to work with this information. And here a pleasant exception will be the BI system. We have already said that it provides all the necessary information in the most visual form. Such that one glance at which would be enough to evaluate the key parameters.

Thus, the use of the Business Intelligence system in practice allows:

• Identify systemic problems in the business, those that hinder full development, as well as discover trends and points for further growth. With such information, the relevant employees will be able to apply sound and obviously correct decisions in practice. Alternatively, if you decide to analyze the work of advertising campaigns, the BI system will immediately show that your strategy has shown itself to be excellent on Instagram, while Zen did not live up to expectations at all. And in such a situation, there is no point in further investing in Zen. A more reasonable solution in practice would be to redirect the freed up funds to the same Instagram, receiving the maximum result in practice.
• Provide important information to a huge number of users. How many accounts you will have working with this system is determined personally by you, as a business manager. But it is important to understand that the larger the quantity, the higher the payment. All this is spelled out in the contract at the time of purchase. It is convenient that Business Intelligence can be connected both to your company's internal database and to any external sources. This means that with its help you can get acquainted with your competitors and their strategies, collect the statistics you need, connect to a partner database, etc. Alternatively, if your business is an online store, then you can connect both your own database containing information about goods in a particular warehouse and external sources - your suppliers' databases - to the BI system. This way you will understand which goods you currently do not have enough of and where you can order them with guaranteed delivery.
• Significantly save time on obtaining information. It is convenient that even a person who does not have the relevant knowledge and skills can use this system. That is, you do not have to wait for the analyst to generate a report and provide information on it. As an option, you are preparing material for publication on your website blog about the efficiency of a new grain cleaning plant manufactured by your company. But the person who will prepare this material has no information about the productivity of this plant, the quality of cleaning, the content of waste, and other important information. To obtain it, specialists will only need to enter the appropriate request in the Business Intelligence system and immediately receive the figures and graphs that will be needed to prepare the material. Otherwise, it would be necessary to send requests to the relevant departments and wait until the relevant employee breaks away from his immediate work and provides you with this data.
• Minimize the physical participation of analysts and other specialists in the work of different departments. Now users can get answers to their requests directly in the BI system, and specialists will not need to be distracted from their immediate tasks by third-party questions. We described how this works in the previous paragraph.
• Significantly simplify and speed up the process associated with obtaining and studying the relevant information. You no longer have to collect huge amounts of data from different reports and create your own document from all of this and only then start studying the material. You immediately receive information that will be understandable on an intuitive level.

All this allows us to confidently say that a modern Business Intelligence system can significantly simplify and facilitate the work of almost any person working in advertising, an online store, a logistics center, a construction, manufacturing company and more. Thanks to its use, it will be possible to instantly respond to changes in business development, preventing waste of money, redirecting funds to the channel where they will in practice have the maximum return.

Who will benefit from working with BI systems?

A modern Business Intelligence system is a fairly universal solution that will be useful in practice for large and medium-sized organizations working in different areas. They will be indispensable wherever it is necessary to analyze large amounts of data, work with arrays. It will be unprofitable for small businesses to use such a rather expensive and functional tool. When faced with the need to process a couple of information sources, you can handle such work manually.

But in the case when it is necessary to collect and analyze data, detailed analytics on a large number of parameters, then the BI system will be the ideal solution. In particular, it can be used to analyze marketing data in specialized agencies or relevant departments of companies in order to segment the customer base, perform market analytics, check the efficiency of channels. Modern entrepreneurs will be able to use it to track key trends in their market segment, directly influence them, thereby increasing the efficiency of selling their own goods and services.

Due to the fact that this system has received quite wide application in practice, relevant specialists began to appear within a particular company. Their area of activity includes direct work with Business Intelligence. This can be:

1. BI analyst. This is a person who is directly responsible for working with data within this system in the context of a particular business. That is, he implements the system into production processes, performs all work related to the processing and storage of information, customizing dashboards and reports for the specifics of a particular specialist. In addition, he can independently analyze data and make appropriate conclusions. By the way, a BI analyst is a fairly promising direction for personal growth and development. Such specialists are in high demand in the modern market, since the efficiency of the system has already been proven in practice.
2. Head of BI. This is a person who will be fully responsible for the operation of the BI system within one company and manage all those who interact with this tool. Most of these positions are occupied by experienced marketers and analysts who are familiar with databases and related storage facilities, and know the details of the entire process of collecting and structuring information. A BI analyst can also apply for such a position if he shows himself well in work.
3. Business analyst. The fact that the Business Intelligence system will quickly collect all the information you need and structure it is only half the solution to the problem. It is also important to understand why this happens, identify problems, and find ways to eliminate them. This is the only way to improve business efficiency and avoid serious mistakes in your work. Most business analysts work not only with the BI system, but also with many other services and tools. This way they can get the most comprehensive information and assess the current situation from a professional point of view.
4. BI Engineer. This is the direct developer of this tool. He will also be directly involved in adapting it to the specifics of a particular business. Such an engineer is well versed in databases, can develop appropriate applications, and knows how to integrate different data sources into a single system. In some cases, such a position can be occupied by software developers.
5. Regular users are company employees. These can be all those whose professional activities are related to generating reports, working with analytics, and managing supplies. In most cases, the implementation of a BI system is required in each department or component structure of a business to ensure the most functional work of both an individual specialist and the team as a whole.

If you are planning to implement a BI system in your business, you need to understand this issue in more detail.

The main types of Business Intelligence systems

BI systems are developed for the specifics of a particular business, taking into account the tools that are used in practice. This is done so that each client can find the most suitable solutions for themselves in terms of functionality and price. So, today there are 2 key classifications of Business Intelligence systems:

1. By physical location of data.
2. By cost.

Let's consider both options in more detail.

Types of BI systems by physical location of data

Depending on where the data used in the work of the BI system is physically located, the following options are distinguished:

• Cloud, they are also SaaS. They are created specifically for those clients who are accustomed to working with cloud environments. There is no specific owner of the information, and such placement does not guarantee the safety of data and their security.
• Using rented servers. This solution is for those who do not plan to purchase a set of network equipment, involve a special engineer in the work, and pay for his work. In this case, all this equipment together with specialists and software solutions is rented.
• Using your own server. This is a choice for business representatives who do not want to allow even the slightest information leakage. Thanks to the presence of additional security tools, it guarantees high data security rates.

Combined solutions are often used in practice, which involve the use of their own servers to store the most sensitive data, as well as rented or cloud storage.

Types of BI systems depending on cost

Depending on cost, the following groups of BI systems are distinguished:

• Free. A similar solution can be found on the Internet today, but no one can guarantee their reliability.
• Shareware. Such Business Intelligence systems, when forming the cost of services, first of all pay attention to the features of the tool. In particular, it takes into account which version of the tool the customer has chosen: server or cloud, who will use this product: individuals or companies.
• Paid. Most of them involve purchasing a monthly subscription or buying a system that will be installed locally within a particular business. Most suppliers offer a trial period for using BI systems so that potential customers can evaluate all the advantages in practice and already determine the need for using them for themselves.

Almost all modern BI systems are a fairly impressive set of technical and software solutions covering various areas of business. And the widest possible functionality will be presented here exclusively in paid products. In addition, you are guaranteed high security, stability and ease of use.

How to choose the right BI system for work

To select a Business Intelligence system that will fully meet your expectations in practice, you need to take into account the size of your company, the niche where it operates, the qualifications of employees and the tasks that the business faces in the foreseeable future. And here the following requirements are imposed on BI systems:

1. Simplicity, intuitive clarity. You must understand that people with different levels of technical training will work with the product. If the tool turns out to be too complex, they will be forced to regularly contact the support service or the IT department. What speed and ease of work can we talk about then? Thanks to the presence of a trial period, you will be able to try different solutions in practice and choose for yourself the one that turns out to be the simplest. It is optimal if the supplier himself tells what skills are needed to work with the tool. Thanks to this, you will be able to estimate how long it will take to train your staff and how much it will cost you.
2. Full compliance with the specifics of the company's activities. This is ensured by broad functionality, as well as individual settings of reports for the specifics of a particular department or person. It is very convenient if the BI system has the ability to use it on mobile devices. This will increase the efficiency of work and ease of interaction.
3. Prevalence in the market. If you bet on an unfamiliar BI system, then it will be very difficult for you to find specialists who understand it well. In addition, if it suddenly happens that the supplier's company closes, you will have nowhere to turn for competent help. Therefore, the more popular the BI system, the better it is for you first of all: you will never be left alone with problems in its operation. There will always be someone who will help solve the difficulties.

We would also like to draw attention to the fact that modern BI systems provide the ability to automate a number of functions. But this will require preliminary settings, including connecting to the appropriate data sources, transformation, processing, structuring. You will also need to configure visualization, connect additional metrics. But then everything will work without your participation.

Features of the process of implementing a Business Intelligence system

If we slightly rephrase the well-known phrase, we get: “hard to implement - easy to use”. Yes, the process of integrating a BI system into a business is quite complex and can take a lot of time, up to several months, or even more. Analysts, developers, and those who will use the tool in the future will all take part here. To complete the task, it will be necessary to implement a number of key stages:

• Defining key requirements for a BI system. Initially, each user must prepare information about what reports they will need in practice and what parameters they should include. It is optimal if they also provide a visual design for the dashboard, and note how often the information should be updated. All this information is collected by the BI analyst, structured, and a final list of requirements is formed. Most of the time, a hierarchical structure is provided here: initially, there are requirements from managers, and then from personnel, depending on their access level and positions.
• Selecting the data that will be needed for work. Having the information provided by the users of the future BI system, the data that should be included in the reports and displayed on the dashboards is directly written down. Here, it is important to determine whether all the data that is needed is available to a particular department or company. If it is not, then you need to know where to get it, for example, from partners, suppliers, etc.
• Indicating data sources. Absolutely all specialists, as well as the manager himself, should work on the implementation of this stage. They must specify where the future system needs to take this or that information from. This could be a sales automation program, a management accounting service, a built-in CRM system, etc. In this case, it is also important to determine how correct the information comes from the specified data. If there are inaccuracies, then adjustments must be made. At this stage, developers can also be involved.
• Choosing a Business Intelligence system from those solutions that are presented on the market. This task is solved by an analyst based on all the requirements and requests that he already has at the moment. Here you can choose one of the ready-made options, or ask for the creation of your own product from scratch. The latter option will be the most convenient and useful in practice for very large companies, including those where sufficient specificity is provided in the reports. The market does not always offer the solutions that a particular company needs.
• Configuring the BI system. Here, you can directly configure the database, integrate with the information source, and create user interfaces. Both BI analysts and developers are involved in implementing the tasks. Everything that was previously planned, so to speak, on paper, is now being entered into the system. If any inconsistencies are identified at this stage, then the appropriate adjustments are made. The main thing at this stage is to obtain a system that takes into account the reporting requirements of each individual user, including the business manager.
• Checking the functionality of the Business Intelligence system through testing. The corresponding work is launched, the received reports are monitored, as well as the presence of all the parameters that should be in them. Here, the work of the system is assessed from a technical point of view, ease of use. Most of the testers are involved in performing these works. These can be the people who will work with the BI system in the future. They will be able to understand how convenient everything is, how well thought out it is, and in what order the blocks are placed. It may be necessary to swap metrics, adjust the dashboard.
• Training staff to use the system. Now that you are completely sure that your tool is ready for use, it is important to train everyone who will have the appropriate access rights to work with it. Alternatively, you can record training videos or hold special webinars, seminars. You should also be prepared for the fact that at first, employees will still ask for additional consultations and help.

As you can see, the work ahead is really very large-scale. And the larger the business, the more thorough and detailed the development should be. Unfortunately, at this stage, errors may also occur, which will ultimately require subsequent modifications and corrections.

The most common errors when launching BI systems

If you know what errors most often occur in practice when launching a BI system, you will be able to prevent them or at least minimize the negative consequences. In particular, these are:

1. Lack of a comprehensive approach to collecting and systematizing data. This is the starting point for launching any BI system. Based on it, appropriate programs are selected, ways to extract data, transfer it, analyze it, and demonstrate it are found. If this stage is not worked out, you will have to spend a very long time setting up the tool after launch.
2. Lack of visual presentation of data. It is important here to evaluate which methods of displaying information will be most convenient for each specific user. For the most part, the dashboard will present information from different sources in the format that will be most correct in this case. And all this should be foreseen in advance.
3. No clearly formulated needs. If you do not know what you want to get as a result, you will never be able to do everything correctly. In any case, there should be a link to the end goal.
4. Ignoring the use of BI specialists, in particular analysts, developers, managers. If you delegate all this work to the staff of your IT department, you will not be able to get the desired result at the end. For the most part, such specialists adhere to the rule "if everything works, then it is better not to meddle in it." And this means that the implementation of technical solutions will be constantly postponed and you will not launch the BI system at all.

Do everything as correctly, consistently and comprehensively as possible. As we described above. And then you will be able to avoid these and many other mistakes in the process of creating and launching a Business Intelligence system.

Summing up

The Business Intelligence system is a really very convenient tool for collecting, storing and visualizing information. It can work with huge amounts of data, from different categories, areas, from internal and external sources. Such a tool will become indispensable in the work of medium and large companies that deal with the processing of large amounts of data on a daily basis. But still, it is necessary to approach the implementation of such a task as comprehensively as possible, because the more detailed you work out the preparatory stages, the higher the quality, functionality and ease of use of the solution you will receive at the end.

Mobile proxies from the MobileProxy.Space service will provide significant assistance in carrying out preparatory work. They will provide maximum functionality of interaction on the Internet, including in the context of collecting information without any risks and restrictions from the system. You can also use them to bypass regional blocking, you can get acquainted with the product itself here. You can also take advantage of a free two-hour test to make sure that these mobile proxies are high-tech, simple and convenient to use in practice. We also suggest that you take a look at the «Promotions and discounts» section. Perhaps you will find interesting offers for yourself here.

Share this article: