How to Use Business Intelligence Automation

Female business intelligence manager

An effective solution for small businesses aiming to boost productivity, make data-driven choices, and boost profitability is business intelligence (BI) automation. 

Business owners can use business intelligence automation to access and analyze crucial information. Then, this drives business insights and decisions on a large scale.

How does intelligent automation work within a business?

Intelligent automation is using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to automate tasks within your business. This can include everything from automating data entry and analysis to automate customer service inquiries and responses.

Intelligent automation increases efficiency within your business. It helps free some tasks off your employees so that they can focus on more important and strategic tasks, while still getting fast and accurate data analysis.

Intelligent automation can also improve the accuracy and consistency of business processes, as it removes the potential for human error. 

There are a few different ways that intelligent automation can be a part of your business:

1. Robotic process automation (RPA): This type of automation involves the use of software “bots” to handle routine tasks and processes, such as data entry and analysis. You may teach these bots to behave similarly to a human user, interacting with various systems and applications exactly as a person would.

2. Natural language processing (NLP): NLP technologies allow businesses to communicate with their systems using natural language, rather than having to input data using specific commands or programming languages. This can make it easier for employees to interact with systems and can also improve the accuracy of data entry and analysis.

3. Machine learning: Machine learning algorithms are used to analyze a lot of data and find patterns and trends that normal analysts might not find. This can be useful for tasks such as customer segmentation and marketing campaign targeting.

Female using business intelligence platform

What is BI – business intelligence?

Business intelligence (BI) are the tools used by organizations to evaluate and report data. BI allows organizations to make more informed decisions by providing insights into their operations and performance.

Business intelligence automation refers to the use of technology to automate the BI process. This can include automating the collection and preparation of data, as well as the creation and distribution of reports.

One example of BI automation is the use of data visualization tools, which can automatically create charts and graphs from raw data. Businesses can then use this information to make better decisions.  

BI-business intelligence refers to the use of BI techniques and technologies to support the operations of two different businesses. This might involve the two businesses exchanging data and insights, or it could involve the use of business intelligence tools to evaluate and present data from both businesses. 

One example of bi-business intelligence is the use of BI tools to analyze data from multiple suppliers in order to identify cost savings opportunities. 

BI can also identify opportunities for collaboration between two businesses. For example, two companies in different industries might use BI to identify potential synergies in their operations, or to identify new markets where they could work together.

Artificial intelligence brain augmented reality

How is artificial intelligence transforming small businesses?

Artificial intelligence (AI) can transform small businesses in many ways. It can automate everyday tasks while also providing important insights and decisions. These are examples of how artificial intelligence is used to transform small businesses:

1. Data analysis and visualization: Small businesses often have limited resources to devote to data analysis and visualization, but artificial intelligence can help. There are tools that can get insights from data and present them visually, like in graphs or charts. This can help small businesses make better informed decisions and identify trends that they may have missed.

2. Predictive analytics: Artificial intelligence can predict future outcomes based on past data. For example, a small business that sells products online could use predictive analytics to forecast demand for their products and adjust their inventory accordingly.

3. Customer service: Artificial intelligence can provide personalized customer service through chatbots and virtual assistants. These tools can handle routine inquiries, freeing up human staff to focus on more complex tasks. AI-powered customer service can also provide faster and more accurate responses, improving the overall customer experience.

4. Marketing: Artificial intelligence can help small businesses identify and target potential customers more effectively. Machine learning algorithms can analyze data about consumer behavior and preferences to create targeted marketing campaigns that are more likely to be successful.

5. Financial forecasting: Artificial intelligence can analyze financial data and forecast your business’ future performance. This can help small businesses make more informed decisions about budgeting, investments, and other financial matters.

Here are five steps to using BI automation for small business success:

1. Identify your business goals and needs

Before implementing any BI automation solutions, it’s important to define your business goals and the specific information you need to achieve them. This might include tracking sales and revenue, analyzing customer behavior, or monitoring production efficiency. 

2. Collect and organize your data

BI automation relies on accurate, up-to-date data to be effective. This might include data from sales and marketing platforms, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and financial software. 

3. Choose the right BI automation tools

There are many BI automation tools, with different features and capabilities. Some popular options include dashboards, data visualization software, and predictive analytics tools. It’s important to choose the tools that your business needs to reach its goals. Look at things like cost, and the level of integration with your existing systems.

4.   Implement and test your BI automation solutions

Once you have selected the tools that will best support your business goals and your teams, you can begin the implementation process. 

This might involve training your team on how to use the new software, integrating the tools with your existing systems, and testing the solutions to ensure they are working correctly. It’s also a good idea to establish a plan for regularly reviewing and updating your BI automation solutions to ensure they continue to meet your business needs.

5. Use the insights gained from BI automation to inform decision-making

The goal of BI automation is to provide insights that can inform business decision-making. Automating collecting, analyzing, and presenting data, can help you identify trends and patterns. Use these insights to inform strategic planning, allocate resources more effectively, and make data-driven decisions that can drive business success.

Business intelligence trends in 2023 graphic

What are some business intelligence trends?

Business intelligence is a field that helps companies and businesses to make more data-driven decisions. That is why it’s crucial you stay up to date on the latest trends to compete with other businesses.

One trend in BI is the increasing automation of data collection, analysis, and reporting. With the proliferation of data sources and the sheer volume of data that businesses must analyze, manual processes are becoming increasingly inefficient. 

Automation may speed up these procedures and lower the possibility of mistakes, giving BI specialists more time to work on more important tasks .

Another trend is the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in business intelligence. This can help your business identify trends from many data that a normal person might not do. They can also predict future outcomes and give you recommendations for actions to take.

Another trend in BI is the increasing use of cloud-based solutions. Cloud-based business intelligence systems provide distinct advantages than on-premises solutions, like reduced costs, easier scalability, and better protection. 

Because you store data and processes on the cloud, cloud BI makes it simpler for businesses to access and analyze data from different sources .

Mobile devices have affected BI trends. As it’s now very easy to analyze and access data quickly. This has led to the development of mobile BI tools and dashboards, allowing employees to access and analyze data from any location.

How will artificial intelligence reshape business strategies?

Artificial intelligence is changing how businesses operate quickly. Technology will affect a wide range of business strategies as it continues to advance.

Business intelligence has been a labor-intensive process as the employees manually provide data analysis from multiple different sources. But now, with the use of AI, you can automate all these steps. This will help your business make faster and more accurate decisions. 

AI develops natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to automate business intelligence. These algorithms help computers understand and interpret human language, giving them the ability to analyze unstructured data sources, like feedback comments or social media posts. This will make a big difference to businesses, as they will have a deeper understanding of the market trends, to create better marketing strategies. 

AI is also used to automate financial reports and sales data. By using machine learning algorithms. With AI, businesses can analyze a lot of data in real-time and get insights they can’t get manually. This allows them to make faster and more informed decisions about everything from pricing to resource allocation.

One key benefit of using Artificial Intelligence to automate Business Intelligence is the ability to make data-driven decisions at scale. AI-powered BI tools can process and analyze data in real-time, allowing businesses to identify patterns and trends that would have been missed using manual methods.

Another advantage of AI-powered BI is that it can help businesses to overcome the challenges of data silos and disparate data sources. Businesses could get a clear view of their business and make more informed decisions by integrating data from many sources. This is very important especially in today’s world, where most businesses are using a lot of different resources like social media and different apps. 

Conclusion

Now that you know all about business intelligence automation, how it works within a business, what bi-business intelligence is, and how both BI and AI can transform your business, you are prepared to implement business intelligence automation.

Want something specific to be covered about ways to improve your business? Reach out to us at marketing@dyl.com

By Alex Vetter

Alex Vetter is the product marketing manager at DYL. With a Masters from College de Paris, he runs the marketing department and helps with product management at DYL.