The percentage of organizations that define themselves as ‘data-driven’ has actually declined, three years in a row. At the same time, in the same survey from Harvard Business Review, 92% of businesses say that they are increasing their investments in AI and Data Analytics. How can both of these be true?
We say, a lack of Business Intelligence.
While companies are expanding the amount of data they collect, they often lack visibility into the right data from all over the business, as well as the ability to convert it to the right format, and eventually glean insights from it for added value. A Business Intelligence solution is the answer to this dilemma. Here’s how it works.
The Three Stages of a BI Solution
First, you need to find all of your data, wherever it might be. Think about databases, ERP, customer transactions, webstreams or even connected IoT devices. All of this information needs to be ingested while ensuring business continuity – that means operations as usual with no impact on workflow. Of course, all of this data can be resource-intensive, so look for a solution that utilizes cost-saving methods such as Data Lakes and archiving, while keeping security front of mind.
With all of these data sources, both structured and unstructured, it’s important to have a way to make all the information consistent before attempting Business Analysis or Machine Learning. This will include adding schema or context, such as Star Schema –allowing you to rapidly aggregate fact records to get more value out of them as a whole, filtering and slicing them as necessary.
Once the foundational process is complete, your data can be analyzed. Here at AllCloud, we leverage the latest AWS services that make exploring your data really intuitive, such as Amazon QuickSight. In minutes, you can be analyzing your data over Business Intelligence dashboards, or using analytics such as ‘What If’ scenarios to compare courses of events, and predict when and how you are going to meet business goals. QuickSight will exclude anomalies in the datasets, and automatically fix gaps due to missing values or structure.
The Practical Benefits of the AllCloud Business Intelligence Process
In-house or legacy solutions are complex, resource-intensive and require months or even years to build. In contrast, AllCloud Business Intelligence leverages the freedom and flexibility of the cloud, but shifts the focus to data analytics.
It’s also about expertise. AWS technology has years of proven experience in supporting organizations in achieving intelligent data analysis. As more and more people utilize their best-of-breed Business Intelligence solutions, a thorough feedback cycle improves and enhances the scope of what you can achieve in turn. Just like with any AWS pay-as-you-grow model, you’re also saving costs on initial hardware and investment, reducing the risk of going ‘all in’ on data and guaranteeing the same level of service even as you scale.
At AllCloud, we usually advise customers to attempt a phased approach to Business Intelligence. Start by delivering content based on your existing data, and then update and augment this as you get increasingly confident with the process and the technology. At every stage, AllCloud BI experts are there to support and guide you through your data journey.
Ready to get started? Get in touch to schedule a consultation with one of our data analysis and BI experts.