Reinventing Business Intelligence for the Next Generation
In today’s data-driven world, many organizations struggle to turn raw data into trusted insights quickly and efficiently. Traditional BI tools like Power BI, Tableau, and Excel help to visualize trends and highlight anomalies, but problems persist — inconsistent data, unreliable metrics, and lengthy deployments being the most common.
Next-generation business intelligence is based on automation and AI across the entire analytics stack. The latest innovations take a multi-tiered approach to fundamentally reimagine how companies connect data to decisions.
Data – Cleansed & Optimized
At the heart of the next generation of BI platforms is a powerful data warehousing engine. Its purpose is to import data from multiple business systems (such as ERP and CRM apps), cleanse it, and then transform it into highly optimized datasets.
Due to the increasing size and complexity of various data sources, data warehousing technology has had to evolve as well. This includes faster processing of target datasets, seamless integration with the industry’s leading data visualization tools (such as MS Power BI, Tableau, and MS Excel), and a greater ability to identify and resolve issues such as missing, inconsistent, or conflicting data.
Modeling — Automated
In the past, clients interested in using BI often assumed that “clean data” was ready for visualization; this was an incorrect assumption. In order for meaningful analytics to be generated, data always needed to be ‘modeled’ – i.e., a diagram (or ‘blueprint’) of the data was required in order to understand how that data was stored and the metrics that could be derived from it.
Data modeling typically applied a “Dimension, Fact & Time” methodology to turn optimized warehouse data into a coherent, business-aligned model. The historic downside to data modeling, however, was that it was a manual process, taking weeks of effort.
Next-generation business intelligence resolves this issue by automating the modeling process – doing in a day or two what used to take weeks.
KPI Libraries – For Specific Apps, Industries, & Roles
BI applications are rarely – if ever –provided without sample reports & dashboards. But over time, savvy users have realized that there’s a huge gulf between “sample reports” and what an organization really needs in order to effectively measure their business, identify trends and outliers, and act – instead of react – accordingly.
Next-generation BI addresses this gulf. Instead of ‘samples’, there are ‘libraries’. And those libraries are specific too – by application (such as specific ERP or CRM apps), by industry (e.g., manufacturing, distribution, and construction), and by role (e.g., CEO, CFO, Sales, Fulfillment). With report and dashboard templates numbering in the thousands, the current breed of BI is ready to provide tangible insights immediately upon deployment – usually within one-to-two days.
AI Assist — Everywhere
Most critical in the evolution of next-generation business intelligence is the leveraging of artificial intelligence in all components of a BI solution. During the implementation and customization process, AI is involved in every step from data optimization and modeling to the creation and customization of key performance indicators. And for end users, AI provides an intuitive, conversational data exploration experience that equally serves both novice user and sophisticated data analyst.
AI is the driving force in next-generation BI that reduces what used to take days and weeks into a matter of minutes - straight out of the box.
Next Generation BI – Decision Support for the Modern Enterprise
With over twenty years of experience in BI and AI, DataSelf is the developer of Analytics Plus™ — the industry’s first next-generation BI solution. Analytics Plus eliminates the traditional BI traps of fragmented data, time-consuming configurations, and disconnected tools.
And, through its integration of DataSelf ETL+™, DFT+™, KPI+™, and AI+™ within its new Self-Service Deployment™ module, DataSelf’s Analytics Plus is business intelligence for the current – and next – generations of business users.
Ready to learn more? Contact us to schedule a free Data and Analysis Review.
