How infused analytics enhances business intelligence
Operating in today’s business landscape can feel like swimming in an ocean of data.
Data is constantly being generated and collected, from social media interactions to website clicks and purchase histories. This can make it difficult for businesses to make sense of it all and glean insights that will help them improve their operations.
To help bridge the gap between data and decision-making, many businesses have turned to self-service business intelligence (BI) tools.
Unfortunately, these tools have become increasingly complex and difficult to use, to the point where businesses are now relying on their IT departments to interpret data for them.
There’s nothing worse than having a powerful tool at your disposal and not being able to use it. That’s the situation many businesses find themselves in when it comes to data analytics.
Self-service BI tools have become so complex and seemingly impenetrable that their target users — namely, business managers and decision-makers — can’t use them effectively.
Thankfully, there is a better solution — business intelligence with infused analytics. With infused analytics, businesses can incorporate data and insights into every workflow, driving every decision.
In this article, we will break down everything you need to know about infused analytics and how they can benefit your business intelligence processes.
What are infused analytics and why are they important for business intelligence?
Imagine being able to take the data and insights you need to make decisions and infuse them into your everyday workflows. Now imagine that this is done in a way that is seamless and unobtrusive. This is the idea behind infused analytics.
With infused analytics, businesses can take data and insights from their BI tools and infuse them into every workflow. This means that instead of having to go to a separate BI tool to get the information they need, users can access data and insights directly from the applications they are already using.
Modern analytics platforms are capable of infusing insights into everyday workflows in a number of ways, including:
In-app analytics
This is when BI tools are embedded directly into the applications that users are already using. For example, a CRM application could have BI functionality built-in, so that users can access data and insights without having to leave the CRM.
Single sign-on (SSO)
This is when users can access BI tools with the same credentials they use for other applications. This makes it easier for users to get started with BI, as they don’t have to remember multiple sets of credentials.
Application programming interfaces (APIs)
This is when BI tools expose their functionality as an API so that other applications can access it. For example, a BI tool could provide an API that allows a CRM application to access data and insights from the BI tool.
The benefits of infused analytics are numerous, but the most important one is that it helps businesses close the gap between data and decision-making. By infusing data and insights into everyday workflows, businesses can make better decisions, faster.
How do businesses use infused analytics to enhance their decision-making process?
The goal of infused analytics is to help businesses close the gap between data and decision-making. To do this, businesses need to infuse data and insights into every step of their decision-making process.
There are a few different ways businesses can do this, but the most common is to use in-app analytics. As we mentioned earlier, in-app analytics is when BI tools are embedded directly into the applications that users are already using.
For example, let’s say you’re using a CRM application to manage your customer relationships. With in-app analytics, you would be able to access data and insights from your BI tools directly from the CRM application. This would allow you to make decisions about your customer relationships without having to leave the CRM application.
Another way businesses can use infused analytics to enhance their decision-making process is by using APIs. As we mentioned earlier, APIs are when BI tools expose their functionality as an API, so that other applications can access it.
For example, let’s say you’re using a BI tool to track your website’s traffic. With an API, you could allow other applications to access the data and insights from the BI tool. This would allow you to make decisions about your website’s traffic without having to leave the other applications.
These examples showcase the benefits of infused analytics for businesses. By infusing data and insights into everyday workflows, businesses can make better decisions, faster.
What are some of the benefits of using infused analytics over traditional BI toolsets?
The more flexible and capable your data is, the more your business can benefit from it. When data is siloed in a BI tool, it’s not easy to use that data to make decisions about other areas of your business.
With infused analytics, businesses can use data and insights from one area of their business to make decisions about other areas. Here are just a few of the benefits businesses can experience when using infused analytics:
1. Faster decision-making
When data and insights are embedded in everyday workflows, businesses can make decisions faster. They don’t have to wait for someone to run a report or pull data from a BI tool.
2. Improved accuracy
With infused analytics, businesses can get data and insights in real-time. This helps businesses make more accurate decisions, as they’re not relying on data that’s days or weeks old.
3. Increased collaboration
When data is siloed in a BI tool, it’s difficult for people to work together on making decisions. With infused analytics, businesses can embed data and insights into collaboration tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams. This allows people to work together on making decisions, regardless of location.
4. Better customer experiences
When businesses use infused analytics, they can embed data and insights into customer-facing applications. This allows businesses to provide their customers with data-driven recommendations and personalized experiences.
5. Greater agility
When data is siloed in a BI tool, it’s difficult to make changes to the way data is used. With infused analytics, businesses can quickly and easily change the way data is used, without having to rely on IT.
How can you get started with infused analytics in your own organization?
If you’re interested in using infused analytics in your organization, there are a few things you can do to get started.
1. Identify the business problems you want to solve
The first step is to identify the business problems you want to solve with data and insights. Do you want to make faster decisions? Improve accuracy? Increase collaboration?
2. Identify the data and insights you need
Once you’ve identified the business problems you want to solve, you need to identify the data and insights you need to solve them. What data do you need? What insights can you glean from that data?
3. Consider how infused analytics can help
After you’ve identified the business problems you want to solve and the data and insights you need, it’s time to consider how infused analytics can help. What workflows can you embed data and insights into? What customer-facing applications can you use to provide data-driven recommendations?
4. Implement infused analytics in your organization
The final step is to implement infused analytics in your organization. This will involve working with IT to embed data and insights into workflows and applications.
Once you know how to get started with infused analytics, you can start reaping the benefits of this powerful tool. By embedding data and insights into everyday workflows, businesses can make better decisions.
What challenges should you be aware of when implementing infused analytics?
There are a few challenges you should be aware of when implementing infused analytics in your organization.
1. Complexity
Infused analytics can be complex, and you may need to work with IT to implement it in your organization. Make sure you have the resources and expertise available to successfully implement infused analytics.
2. Data quality
The data you use for infused analytics needs to be of high quality. Otherwise, you may not be able to glean accurate insights from it. Make sure you have a process in place to ensure the data you’re using is of high quality.
3. Security
When you embed data and insights into workflows and applications, you need to make sure they’re secure. Otherwise, you may be putting sensitive data at risk. Make sure you have the necessary security measures in place to protect your data.
By being aware of these challenges, you can make sure you’re prepared for them when implementing infused analytics in your organization. By taking the time to plan and prepare, you can set your organization up for success.
Conclusion
Infused analytics is a powerful tool that can help businesses make better decisions — faster. However, it’s important to be aware of the challenges involved in implementing infused analytics in your organization.
If you are finding it difficult to keep up with the increasing complexity of self-service BI tools, or if you want to be able to make changes to the way data is used quickly and easily, then infused analytics may be the solution for you. Discover how you can get started with infused analytics in your organization today.