Who Uses Business Intelligence?

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In today’s tech-centric world, businesses are moving at neck-break speed to stay competitive. 

For these businesses to achieve a competitive edge in a saturated market, every decision they make must be informed. Organizations, irrespective of the industry, have access to massive data that they can leverage to their advantage. 

Unfortunately, very few do. 

Those using business intelligence (BI) are seeing improved results in many areas, including marketing, financial management, and operations. 

BI enables decision-makers to combine the power of technology and business expertise to make informed, data-driven decisions and stay ahead of the competition. But what exactly is business intelligence, and who uses it? Keep reading to find out.

What Is Business Intelligence?

Today, businesses of all sizes have access to massive volumes of data that were not readily available a few decades ago. Business intelligence (BI) aims to make sense of what these data sets mean and turn them into insights that can be used for decision-making. 

Using specialized software, BI systems analyze raw data sets and derive insights from them, which are then used to inform everything from planning to marketing and more.

For the BI system to obtain data, the company should have a data storage unit that can collect information from various departments, including sales and marketing, finance, administration, customer support, and more. Businesses can look for industry experts (one like Walt Coulston) to establish a data center with which they can integrate BI for improved data-driven analysis and results.

Simply put, business intelligence (BI) is a set of processes and technologies that convert raw data into meaningful information for decision-making. BI directly impacts an organization’s tactical, operational, and strategic decisions. 

Who Uses Business Intelligence

Since business intelligence directly impacts an organization’s tactical, operational, and strategic decisions, it can be used by different professionals in a corporate setup. These include:

Business Executives

Business executives are responsible for steering the business forward through data-driven decisions. BI tools allow senior executives to spot trends in data, develop fact-based strategies, and make strategic decisions based on data rather than gut instincts alone. 

If your business lacks the necessary BI tools and expertise to unlock the power of data, partnering with a business intelligence consultancy firm can help you understand your data and achieve sustainable business growth. 

Operational/Warehouse Managers

BI is an effective tool for managing warehouse activities, especially inventory management. 

Warehouse managers use BI tools to see how much stock they have on hand and the sales history of that stock. This information provides them with accurate stock levels. 

Armed with this information, purchasing managers can order enough stock to meet customer demands without the risk of overstocking. 

Marketers

In the marketing department, business intelligence can be used to uncover trends and guide marketers on their marketing campaigns. 

With BI tools, marketers can track relevant campaign metrics and gain clear visibility into the campaign’s performance. This data allows marketers to identify areas that need to be improved and provides contextual visuals for sharing with the company. 

Financial Analysts

Financial health is critical to the success of any company. 

Business intelligence tools provide accountants and financial managers with a detailed financial picture of the company’s financial performance. Many BI tools allow users to customize P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statements for every area of business. 

With the ability to visualize the numbers on a central dashboard, financial analysts can better understand the company’s financial performance and educate the team. 

Data Professionals

Data scientists and analysts are power BI users. 

These professionals use company data paired with powerful analytics tools to derive insights from data, which they use to understand where opportunities for improvement exist and advise the management accordingly. 

Wrapping Up

Business intelligence is the fuel that drives business growth and success. No matter which areas of your business you’ve prioritized for improvement, there are business intelligence tools and strategies that can help you achieve your goals.