无论您经营什么类型的业务，您都可以从商业智能 (BI) 和业务分析(analytics)(BA) 中受益。您的运营规模越大、越复杂，它就越能从 BI 和 BA 中受益。
无论您是想利用“大数据”的力量，还是需要帮助您的数据分析师更好地洞察您的运营，配备数据分析工具的分析平台将在您面临挑战时为您完成 90% 的工作面临决策挑战。他们怎么能做到这一点？这就是我们将在本文中解释的内容，同时还将重点介绍当今一些最好的商业智能软件。
商业(Business) 智能(Intelligence)与商业(Business)分析
虽然有些人可能会互换使用这些术语，但 BI 和 BA 之间存在天壤之别。同时，它们就像一枚硬币的两个面，因为只有一个对另一个才真正有价值。
商业智能(Business Intelligence)中的“智能”并不意味着“聪明”。这意味着有关您的业务的信息。管理企业的人只能做出与其信息质量一样好的决策。如果他们缺乏信息或有错误的信息，他们更有可能做出错误的决定。
因此，商业智能并不是一个新概念，而是在互联的高科技世界的背景下，它获得了新的生命。几乎实时地记录企业内的大多数活动，例如库存损失、员工绩效或销售模式是很困难的。问题在于处理大量的信息，以至于它变成了噪音。
这就是业务(Business) 分析(Analytics)发挥作用的地方。“分析”一词相当广泛，但它指的是用于从原始数据中获取有用信息的知识和方法。这使它成为 BI 的完美匹配。BI 技术积累了大量数据，BA 系统将这些数据解析为业务决策者可以从中获得洞察力的信息。
当您在业务中实施 BI 和 BA 时，您可以准确了解正在发生的事情。
使用仪表板(Dashboard)把握脉搏(Pulse)
对于大多数在工作中处理过 BI 和 BA 的人来说，首先想到的就是仪表板(dashboard)。就像(Just)汽车的仪表板仪表一样，您的 BI 仪表板一目了然地显示正在发生的事情。
仪表板(Dashboard)指标获取 BI 数据，然后通过 BA 算法运行它以生成指标。这些指标的细节因企业而异，因为没有两个企业是相同的。当然，这意味着您不能只使用默认仪表板模板并使用它运行。您必须自己开发和定制。
使用预测分析来避免危机或预测(Anticipate)机会
您不只是想知道您的业务当前正在发生什么。你还需要知道未来会发生什么。预测分析并不完全是一个水晶球。尽管如此，它仍然可以帮助您发现模式并预测挑战和机遇，而这些挑战和机遇在没有深入审查超出人类复制能力的 BI 数据的情况下是不可见的。
您可以增强客户数据
无论您是制造产品还是提供服务，了解有关客户的所有信息都至关重要。他们如何使用你的产品？他们高兴吗，还是有改进的余地？借助 BI，您可以将数据收集点构建到客户与您的业务、产品或服务的交互中。
您应该了解的 BI 平台
既然我们已经介绍了商业智能解决方案是什么，那么这是一个展示当今市场上一些最好的商业智能工具的绝佳机会，包括迎合小型企业的 BI 工具。
Power BI是 Microsoft 的一套工具，它们一起设计，将企业中不同的数据源相互连接起来。Power BI可以从这些不同的数据源中生成清晰的交互式可视化洞察，准确地向你展示你的业务中正在发生的事情。
Power BI包含三个主要组件。在用户端，有一个名为Power BI Desktop的(Power BI Desktop)Windows应用程序以及适用于 iOS 和Android的移动应用程序。后端有Power BI服务，它在云中运行并为前端的各种应用程序提供服务。
Power BI提供了一个直观的报表生成器工具，可让你制作自定义报表，然后发布它们以供在服务中包含的标准最终用户应用程序上访问。Power BI还提供API(APIs)（应用程序编程接口(Application Programming Interfaces)），可让您将数据从Power BI推送到您自己的自定义应用中。
SAS 商业智能与分析(SAS Business Intelligence & Analytics)
SAS的 BI 软件因其易于使用而享有盛誉，即使对于非技术用户也是如此。根据我们看到的用户评论，非常强调数据可视化，这是SAS擅长的领域。它提供的远不止一些难以理解的图表。
虽然总是需要训练有素的数据科学家，但SAS使用机器学习和自然语言解释来创建任何人都易于理解的见解，而不会妨碍其作为全脂高级分析解决方案的功能。
思感(SiSense)
SiSense 的主要声名是集成和嵌入式商业智能平台。该公司提供白标产品，以在其分析工具上建立您的品牌。
在这种情况下，数据(Data)集成意味着将数据收集和分析注入到每个流程、工作流、应用程序或业务用户可以插入SiSense API的任何其他地方。
ZoHo 的分析方法是新鲜的，没有您在 BI 市场的长期参与者中看到的一些遗留包袱。它使连接不同的数据源变得直观，并允许其客户开始获得洞察力并快速构建 BI 监控工具。
自助服务工具减少了对专业数据科学家的依赖，并帮助您独立清理、组织和准备数据。ZoHo还开发了一款智能 AI 助手，可以在与您交谈并了解您的需求后为您生成见解。
ZoHo还明智地削减了将来自ZoHo的 BI 组件嵌入您的软件和网站所需的编码量。它正在迅速流行起来，总的来说，好评是很多的。因此，如果您对复杂 BI 实施的想法感到害怕，ZoHo的自助服务模型可能适合您。
Dundas BI声称是“同类中第一个完全可编程的端到端 BI 平台”。他们的开放API允许用户做几乎任何事情。由于其实时数据连接功能， Dundas还提供快速分析。(Dundas)
如果你有一个数据仓库，Dundas很有可能会加入其中，并在收集数据时将数据包含在其分析中。Dundas技术现在部分归微软所有(owned by Microsoft)，因此如果您投资于MS SQL或Sharepoint之类的产品，随着两条产品线的整合程度越来越高，这里有很多值得关注的地方。
(IBM)在退出个人计算市场之后，IBM并没有受到太多关注。然而，该公司仍在云计算和人工智能领域扼杀它。IBM Cognos BI利用了他们几十年来在人工智能研究中所做的工作，这也是IBM Watson等令人惊叹的项目的来源。
Cognos由各种专门的组件组成。例如，Cognos Query Studio管理即席查询，而Cognos Workspace Advanced管理即席查询和数据探索。
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虽然大多数现代 BI 解决方案在您看到仪表板和报告中反映的新数据之前提供了相对较短的周转时间，但Qlik以实时交付洞察力来推销自己。凭借其QlikView和Qlik Sense服务，您可以使用数据可视化和基于云的分析软件，无需您进行硬件投资即可获得强大的支持功能。
SAP提供了一套庞大的企业软件工具作为其业务技术平台(Business Technology Platform)的一部分。BusinessObjects BI 套件代表在所有复杂的后端系统上分层的本地数据分析组件。
此 BI 解决方案的一个关键方面是可扩展性。SAP非常重视为用户数量少和拥有数千用户的客户提供服务，使用相同的平台指标、数据集、功能、数据发现工具
BI 和 BA 有风险！
毫无疑问，任何不实施某种形式的 BI 和 BA 的中等复杂业务都将处于明显劣势。然而，这并不意味着每个人都应该急于求成。正确地做 BI 和 BA 比快速做更重要。如果设置错误的 BI 和 BA 为您提供不相关或不准确的数据，则弊大于利。
预测分析也带有警告。没有任何预测是 100% 准确的，而且总是有可能缺少关键数据，从而产生忽略关键问题的预测。BI 和 BA 是强大的工具，但它们永远无法替代人类判断。
最后，重要的是要记住，数据隐私是一个永远存在的挑战。每当您处理个人信息时，都会有复杂的法律和道德考虑。因此，如果您不小心，使用 BI 和 BA 可能会使您的业务面临风险。
Best Business Intelligence (BI) Software and Platforms for Small Businesses
No matter what type оf business you run, you can benefit from bυsiness intelligence (BI) and business analytics (BA). The larger and more complex your operation, the more it can benefit from BI and BA.
Whether you’re trying to tap into the power of “Big Data” or need to help your data analysts develop better insights into your operations, analytics platforms packed with data analysis tools will do 90% of the work for you when you’re faced with decision-making challenges. How can they do this? That’s what we’ll explain in this article while also highlighting some of the best business intelligence software out there today.
Business Intelligence vs. Business Analytics
While some people may use these terms interchangeably, there’s a world of difference between BI and BA. At the same time, they are like two sides of the same coin since one is only truly valuable with the other.
The “intelligence” in Business Intelligence doesn’t mean “smart.” It means information about your business. The people who manage a business can only make decisions as good as the quality of their information. If they lack information or have the wrong information, they are more likely to make poor decisions.
Therefore, business intelligence is not a new idea, but in the context of a connected, high-tech world, it’s taken on new life. It’s difficult to record most activities within a business, such as stock losses, employee performance, or sales patterns, in near real-time. The problem is dealing with a flood of information so much that it becomes noise.
That’s where Business Analytics comes into the picture. The term “analytics” is quite broad, but it refers to the knowledge and methods used to gain useful information from raw data. That makes it a perfect match for BI. BI technologies accumulate masses of data, and the BA systems parse that data into information that business decision-makers can gain insights from.
When you have BI and BA implemented in your business, you get a view into exactly what’s going on.
Keeping a Finger On the Pulse with a Dashboard
For most people who have dealt with BI and BA at work, the first thing that comes to mind is the dashboard. Just like a car’s dashboard instruments, your BI dashboard shows you what’s going on at a glance.
Dashboard indicators take BI data and then run it through BA algorithms to produce indicators. The specifics of these indicators will vary from business to business since no two businesses are the same. Of course, this means that you can’t just take a default dashboard template and run with it. You’ll have to develop and customize your own.
Using Predictive Analytics to Avoid a Crisis or Anticipate Opportunities
You don’t just want to know what’s currently happening in your business. You also need to know what’s going to happen in the future. Predictive analytics isn’t exactly a crystal ball. Still, it can help you spot patterns and predict challenges and opportunities that would have been invisible without deep scrutiny of your BI data that’s beyond a human’s capacity to replicate.
You Can Supercharge Customer Data
Whether you make a product or offer a service, it’s vital to know everything you can about your customer. How do they use your product? Are they happy, or is there room for improvement? With BI, you can build data collection points into your customer interactions with your business, product, or services.
BI Platforms You Should Know About
Now that we’ve covered what a business intelligence solution is, it’s an excellent opportunity to highlight some of the best business intelligence tools on the market today, including BI tools that cater to small businesses.
Power BI is Microsoft’s suite of tools that are designed together, connecting different sources of data in your business to one another. Power BI can generate clear, interactive visual insights from these different data sources that show you exactly what’s going on in your business.
There are three main components to Power BI. On the user side, there’s a Windows application called Power BI Desktop and mobile apps for iOS and Android. There’s the Power BI service on the back-end, which runs in the cloud and serves the various apps on the front-end.
Power BI offers an intuitive report builder tool that lets you craft custom reports and then publish them for access on the standard end-user apps included with the service. Power BI also provides APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that let you push data from Power BI into your own custom apps.
SAS’s BI software has developed a reputation for being simple to use, even for non-technical users. According to the user reviews we’ve seen, there’s a strong emphasis on data visualization, and this is one area SAS excels in. It offers far more than a few hard-to-understand graphs.
While there will always be a need for trained data scientists, SAS uses machine learning and natural language explanations to create insights that are easy to understand for anyone without hobbling its functionality as a full-fat advanced analytics solution.
SiSense’s main claim to fame is an integrated and embedded business intelligence platform. The company offers a white-label product to build your branding on their analytics tools.
Data integration, in this case, means infusing data collection and analytics into every process, workflow, application, or anywhere else business users can insert the SiSense API.
ZoHo’s approach to analytics is fresh and free from some of the legacy baggage you’ll see with long-time players in the BI market. It makes connecting disparate data sources intuitive and allows its clients to start gaining insights and building BI monitoring tools rapidly.
The self-service tools reduce reliance on specialist data scientists and help you clean, organize, and otherwise prepare your data independently. ZoHo has also developed a smart AI assistant that can generate insights for you after having a conversation with you and getting a sense of what you need.
ZoHo has also judiciously trimmed the amount of coding necessary to embed BI components from ZoHo in your software and websites. It’s rapidly gaining popularity, and in general, the praise is plentiful. So if you’re intimidated by the idea of complex BI implementations, ZoHo’s self-service model may be for you.
Dundas BI claims to be “the first fully programmable, end-to-end BI platform of its kind.” and their open API allows users to do virtually anything. Dundas also offers fast analytics thanks to its real-time data connection capabilities.
If you have a data warehouse, odds are Dundas can hook into it and include data in its analyses as it’s collected. Dundas technology is now partly owned by Microsoft, so if you’re invested in MS SQL or products like Sharepoint, there’s a lot to like here as the two product lines are becoming ever more integrated.
IBM hasn’t been in the spotlight as much after moving out of the personal computing market. However, the company is still killing it in cloud computing and artificial intelligence. IBM Cognos BI leverages what they’ve been doing in their artificial intelligence research over the decades, which is also where amazing projects such as IBM Watson come from.
Cognos consists of various specialized components. For example, Cognos Query Studio manages ad hoc queries, whereas Cognos Workspace Advanced foes ad hoc queries and data exploration.
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While most modern BI solutions offer a relatively short turnaround before you see new data reflected in your dashboards and reports, Qlik markets itself on real-time delivery of insights. With its QlikView and Qlik Sense services, you’re covered for data visualization and cloud-based analytics software, with oodles of horsepower to back it up without hardware investment from you.
SAP offers a huge suite of enterprise software tools as part of its Business Technology Platform. The BusinessObjects BI suite represents the on-premise data analytics component that’s layered over all the sophisticated back-end systems.
One key aspect of this BI solution is scalability. SAP have made a point of catering to clients with small numbers of users and those with thousands, with the same platform metrics, data sets, features, data discovery tools
BI and BA Come With Risks!
There’s little doubt that any moderately complex business that doesn’t implement some form of BI and BA will be at a significant disadvantage. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone should rush in. Doing BI and BA right is more important than doing it quickly. Doing BI and BA wrong can do more harm than good if it’s set up to give you irrelevant or inaccurate data.
Predictive analytics also comes with caveats. No prediction is 100% accurate, and there’s always the chance that crucial data is missing, creating predictions that overlook key issues. BI and BA are potent tools, but they cannot ever substitute human judgment.
Finally, it’s important to remember that data privacy is an ever-present challenge. There are complex legal and ethical considerations whenever you work with personal information. So this is one avenue of risk that using BI and BA can expose your business to if you aren’t careful.
