To achieve sustained growth and gain a competitive advantage, companies need to be able to use analytics and business intelligence to develop actionable, data-driven insights. Unfortunately, analytics is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The business manager, business analyst, and executive all have different needs when it comes to analytics and business intelligence (BI). Here is how the company can really flourish when intelligence caters to the different needs of these individuals.
Executive Business Intelligence Needs
Busy executives have particular needs when it comes to business information, but especially analytics and BI. Executives require high-level summaries of key metrics so they can quickly grasp the issues at stake, the bigger picture, and the possible outcomes of courses of action.
While the high-level overview will be built on a wealth of details, the executive simply does not have time to dig through these details. Additionally, executives cannot spend time digging through a complicated BI interface to run reports or access raw data. They need a familiar interface that offers an array of easy to use data display options and provides access to data across devices.
Business Managers’ Business Intelligence Needs
With responsibility for maintaining the day-to-day success of the business, business managers need access to the same high-level information as executives, but also the small details of operations. To drive business improvements while minimizing the amount of risk, business managers need to understand the key business drivers and relationships that shape business outcomes. They’re looked upon to know how their team is performing and also understand the areas where they are lacking.
Business managers need to be able to independently do the necessary analysis to ensure their departments, regions, or divisions are performing optimally. In order to do so, they need a robust self-service BI solution that allows them to not only monitor performance but also search for anomalies via data discovery using ad hoc queries with little to no involvement from IT.
Like executives, business managers must be able to access the familiar BI interface from any devices due to their fast pace and often mobile work environment. These users will also want a high level of interface customization, so that they can tailor the business intelligence system to meet their particular needs.
Business Analyst’s Business Intelligence Needs
Professional nitpickers, business analysts sift through organizational data, hoping to uncover the little things that spell the difference between profit and loss or organizational success and failure. Analysts need easy access to raw data, the ability to do ad hoc queries, and quickly drill down through different layers of data to make connections. Customizable reporting and modeling tools will further help business analysts to unpack valuable insights behind the raw data and make suggestions for ways to improve business outcomes.
A robust analytics system that offers statistical evidence, predictions, and patterning makes it easier for these players to do the detail-oriented work of unpacking the data to make correlations. Business analysts also need access to a flexible system that includes proper data structures that will help them mine data and make actionable suggestions in a timely manner to different organizational stakeholders.
When all key players have the ability to leverage analytics for their particular needs, everyone is able to work together to ensure that goals are achieved. Working across departments, executives, business managers, and business analysts can all use business intelligence insights to make smarter decisions, anticipate potential outcomes and prepare in kind, and to achieve sustained growth.
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