Each business works with the objective of making a profit and this can be achieved by making the right business decisions. Business leaders make countless decisions that influence work in several ways. However, the ultimate goal is to make decisions effective enough to carve the way of profits for organizations. Therefore, the successful implementation of the plans is the main need of all companies and Business Intelligence proves to be useful in this context. Let's take a look at Business Intelligence and its components:

Business Intelligence

Business Intelligence plays a leading role in implementing correct planning strategies and procedures. BI technology helps its users to collect, store, access and analyze data. The set of applications covered by Business Intelligence allows companies to effectively implement the Decision Support System, applying concepts of Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), Statistical Analysis, Forecasting and Data Mining.

Business Intelligence serves to send the information to the right decision makers at the right time. BI is preferred by many users, since it leads them to arrive at the facts based on the conclusion or more commonly known as 'single version of the truth'. This provides the best final product and leads an organization to convert raw data into useful information; Therefore, bringing profits.

Characteristics of a business intelligence solution:

• It is a single point of access to information.
• Provide timely answers to business questions
• It allows the effective implementation of tools, applications and BI systems in all departments of an organization

Stages of a business intelligence process:

The Business Intelligence process collects raw data and converts it into useful information; and transforms it even more into knowledge that must be used intelligently. The BI process is based on five main stages mentioned below:

Data provisioning:

This stage works on the collection of data from different sources, including emails, images, formatted tables, reports, sounds and other relevant sources. The main role of Data Sourcing is to collect data in digital form; therefore, the sources for collecting data are computer files, digital cameras, scanners, etc.

Analysis of data:

The next stage is to organize the data collected from Data Sourcing and estimate the data based on current and future trends. Also known as data mining, this stage also predicts the information that will be needed in the future.

Knowledge of the situation:

This stage of the Business Intelligence process helps to filter the relevant data and use it in relation to the business environment. Users compile the data by carefully observing market or government forces. policies, to make decisions easier. Combinations of different algorithms are used to properly identify the awareness of the situation.

Risks evaluation:

Taking risks is part of every business; but, if one can take precautions, it is extremely useful. The risk assessment stage helps identify current and future risks, including cost benefits; choosing the best options; and comparison between two decisions to identify which will be beneficial. Summarize the best option among the varied options.

Decision support:

This last stage of the BI process helps to use the information intelligently. The objective of this stage is to warn users about several crucial events, such as low staff performance, acquisitions, changing market trends, sales fluctuations and much more. It helps to make better business decisions to improvise staff morale and customer satisfaction.

Importance of business intelligence:

Business Intelligence plays an important role in the functioning of organizations and helps them to continue the progression. The meaning of Business Intelligence is shown below:

• BI helps study changing demands; therefore, a company can have accurate and updated information about customer preferences
• Help Managers stay informed about the behavior of competitors and their actions.
• It helps analysts to know the adjustments that must be made to maximize profits.
• It helps organizations to make future plans based on relevant data organized to give better results.

Business intelligence users:

IT users:

These users use BI tools for development purposes, including data integration, data modeling, report generation, presentation and final delivery. IT users also use it to support people in the organization and provide reports to external customers.

Advanced users:

These types of users include 'Professional Analysts' who have been using BI tools. These users study the predefined reports and provide support to make the right decisions, but are not required to make decisions.

Commercial users:

They review the analysis report submitted by advanced users. These users can apply their own data queries and create reports based on those queries.

Occasional users:

These users have the privilege of making changes to the information in the report and can enter the data that can help carry out further high-level investigations.

Non-business users:

These users are generally not part of an organization and are external sources that help companies make more tactical decisions. These may include external partners, customers, business analysts, suppliers, etc.

Therefore, Business Intelligence solutions help organizations make effective decisions and gain a deeper insight into business data to meet the specified objectives. By using all tools, applications and systems, organizations can accelerate product delivery by achieving the objectives.