BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI)

Data-driven insights for smarter decisions

The Business Application Research Center (BARC) asked more than 2,600 BI users about the significant added value of Business Intelligence. The most common responses were:

64%

MEASURE INCREASED SPEED IN REPORT GENERATION AND DATA ANALYSIS

49%

SEE AN IMPROVED QUALITY THROUGH BETTER (DATA-BASED) DECISIONS

43%

NOTICE AN INCREASED EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION BY USING THE BI TOOLS

WHAT IS BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI)?

Business Intelligence (BI) makes it possible to generate actionable insights from your data, i.e. to get answers as to HOW things develop and WHY things develop in a certain way.

By understanding “HOW” and “WHY”, you can identify the central drivers of business success and failure which you can then use to manage your business more successfully – in the sense of “from Data to Insights to Value”.

The tools and technologies used in the context of Business Intelligence make it possible to link large quantities of data from various sources (from SAP to Excel files), process it automatically, and visualize it intuitively for the respective target group.

In the sense of BI Self-Service, access to fast analyses is no longer reserved for data scientists and IT experts, but can also be used intuitively by inexperienced users. The manual, error-prone effort which goes into generating reports is eliminated and free capacities for the interpretation of results and data-based decision making are created, which typically materialize in significant performance increases.

WHY IS BI RELEVANT FOR THE FUTURE SUCCESS OF YOUR COMPANY?

Decisions are often still made within companies on the basis of “gut feeling” and “personal experience” as a result of missing or costly evaluation possibilities. The risk here is that gut feeling and experiences of subjective impressions may be distorted.

Business Intelligence relies on the efficient analysis of large quantities of data. The data-based gain in knowledge allows for objective and undistorted decision-making and is therefore a key success factor for companies that want to systematically assert themselves in the markets of today, tomorrow and beyond.

WHAT DOES EXPERIENCE SHOW, WHAT IS THE ADDED VALUE OF BI?

The Business Application Research Center (BARC) asked more than 2,600 BI users about the significant added value of Business Intelligence. The most common responses were:

  • 64% measured increased speed in report generation and data analysis
  • 49% saw an improvement in quality through better (data-based) decisions
  • 43% noticed an increase in employee satisfaction by using the BI functionality

The results of our project confirmed this and produced similar outcomes:

Increased Profitability

Profitability can be increased through a better understanding of customer behavior (e.g. incoming orders & pricing measures) and/or the identification of operational bottlenecks (e.g. processes)

Reduced Effort

Manual effort can be greatly reduced through flexible connection to various data sources (from SAP to Excel) and automated processing

Improved Quality

Automated processing avoids manual errors and creates free capacity for a data-based interpretation of results and decision making

Realized Savings

Highly automated Reporting & Self-Service Business Intelligence functions save valuable working hours spent on generating reports

Improved Employee Satisfaction

Automated data processing eliminates many time-consuming manual activities and so employees have time for other tasks

VISUAL ANALYTICS

Intuitive data visualization, quick recognition of patterns & relationships

FOCUSES ON THE HUMAN ABILITY OF VISUAL UNDERSTANDING

Visual Analytics focuses on the human ability to visually capture interrelationships and patterns in data rather quickly. In the context of an acute information overload, a targeted, intuitive visualization of analysis results is essential for fast decision making.

Modern Business Intelligence applications such as Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, QlikView and Qlik Sense allow various information to be combined so that a meaningful visualization can be created in the form of graphics and diagrams. The integrated data can then be interactively analyzed and explored in the form of interactive reports and dashboards in order to quickly identify interrelationships, trends and patterns.

 

DATACLUE – CONCEPTION TO IMPLEMENTATION WITH JUST ONE PROVIDER

Depending on the target group, question, and data set, a differentiation must be made as to which is the most intuitive and user-friendly form of visualization. The basic prerequisite for the conception is an exact definition of the target group and the questions to be answered by the target group. Only in this way can the data visualizations later support a quick decision making process. Based on this, we begin our project work with the case history of the future dashboard users in order to understand questions, needs and context from the outset. The exact requirements and objectives of the dashboard and individual visualizations or analyses can subsequently be determined.

Based on these defined requirements, we start with the implementation of the data visualization. From our extensive project experience, we know which visual elements are suitable to process even the most complex data sets in an understandable and appealing way, thus enabling users to gain knowledge quickly. In the sparring between users as technical experts and our development team, your data story is created. With the visualizations combined in the dashboard, users can analyze and explain HOW or WHY data changes over time and where interrelationships exist.

We are happy to start with an initial workshop in which we discuss a specific application situation from your company together and devise a possible solution approach as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or prototype. Based on the jointly-developed objectives and the associated requirements, our team of experts can then work out the MVP in an agile development process. The MVP can then be individually extended step-by-step with additional data and functionalities. We act proactively with integrity and precision at all times. The technologies we use can be flexibly expanded and offer sufficient scalability in the long term.

Feel free to contact us and our team of experts will help you find the right solution for you to generate real added value from your data.

SELF-SERVICE BI

IT-independent analysis & knowledge gain

HELPING PEOPLE TO HELP THEMSELVES WITH MODERN SELF-SERVICE BI SOLUTIONS

Self-service BI is understood to mean the users’ ability to perform data analyses independently and to create their own reports. Based on the principle of “helping people to help themselves”, our self-service BI solutions are designed to allow users to perform data analyses independently.

The objective of self-service BI is to build and expand the competence of users in the area of data analysis and to provide the appropriate tools. As a result, users can independently gain essential insights from company data and make objective, data-based decisions based on these findings.

Self-service BI thus also has the effect of shifting the creation of reports and dashboards away from IT and towards the respective business departments. This leads to a reduction in the workload for IT developers since it is no longer necessary to prepare all analysis options statically. The focus can instead be placed on defining and maintaining a consistent data set including pre-calculated key figures and variable combinations of different data sources.

Users can then conveniently navigate this data set via various access options. Easy access to practical data promotes the data orientation of employees in the long term. Compared to slow analysis options in Excel or ERP systems, Microsoft Power BI & Co allow a substantially improved user experience through their technical possibilities. The powerful systems use in-memory technology which enables real interaction with the data sets through very short reaction times. With just a few clicks, users can select the desired data by using filters and analyze it individually.

According to the requirements of the target group, data access to key financial figures, sales performances and market shares can also be mobile. Depending on access authorization, the data is then made available at any time with the push of a button on smartphone, tablet and laptop for management, sales and marketing. With end device-optimized visualizations, mobile interactive analyses are also possible for more intelligent, data-based decisions.

 

DATACLUE – WE SUPPORT YOU ON YOUR WAY TO BECOMING A DATA-DRIVEN COMPANY

In order to successfully implement self-service BI in the long term, a joint analysis of the initial situation is an absolute prerequisite. Depending on the status quo in terms of skills, data basis and technology, we then define both the target and the starting point for an independent data analysis. According to your requirements, we guide and accompany you at the desired speed on your way to becoming a data-driven company.

We are happy to start with an initial workshop in which we discuss a specific application situation from your company together and devise a possible solution approach as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or prototype. Based on the jointly-developed objectives and the associated requirements, our team of experts can then work out the MVP in an agile development process. The MVP can then be individually extended step-by-step with additional data and functionalities. We act proactively with integrity and precision at all times. The technologies we use can be flexibly expanded and offer sufficient scalability in the long term.

Feel free to contact us and our team of experts will help you find the right solution for you to generate real added value from your data.