Business intelligence tools can vary depending on the various needs of your company.
A business intelligence platform can analyze customer behavior, measure campaign effectiveness, monitor market trends, and identify new business opportunities.
With many business intelligence tools available on the market today, in this article, we will look at some of the best ones to consider.
Whether you need a business intelligence tool for data visualization, data analysis, or anything in between, you are sure to find a great option by the time you finish reading this article.
What Are BI Tools And Software?
Business intelligence software comes in many different forms. With multiple vendors that provide business intelligence tools, the features and functionality of these tools can vary greatly. However, there are some basic things that all business intelligence tools should provide to be effective.
Let's look at the top categories of BI tools and how they can help your business.
Data Discovery
Before one can use a business intelligence reporting tool to its full potential, the data it will deal with needs to be understood. This is where data discovery tools come in.
The best BI tools for data discovery help users quickly find, understand, and visualize relevant data. This can be done through several different features, such as search, filtering, sorting, and visualization.
A business intelligence application that deals with data discovery will allow users to find the exact data they are looking for.
Reporting And Dashboards
Reporting business intelligence tools allow users to generate reports and dashboards that give them an overview of their business.
Knowing what the specifically-needed BI reporting tool is, and how one can use it, is critical for any online business that wants to succeed.
Some of the key features of Reporting BI tools include the ability to generate reports and dashboards, track KPIs, and identify trends. This all allows businesses to make the right operational decisions.
Data Analysis
Analytics tools in BI run through inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data to discover useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making.
Several vendors provide various BI analytics tools, so knowing which is right for your business can be tricky.
When it comes to specific features, analytics BI tools help greatly with data analysis and can provide functionality that covers data mining, statistical analysis, predictive modeling, and more.
Data Visualization
Business analytics software goes hand in hand with data visualization tools.
Data visualization tools help to make data easier to understand and can be used to create the right visual reports and dashboards.
While this typically accompanies BI tools for reporting, data visualization tools can also be used for data analysis and decision-making.
Complex Event Processing
Complex event processing (CEP) is a category of business intelligence software that deals with identifying, analyzing, and responding to events that are significant to the business.
As part of BI analytics tools, CEP tools are designed to help businesses react quickly to changes in their environment and make decisions accordingly.
With business intelligence applications becoming increasingly complex, the need for CEP tools is increasing.
The critical features of CEP tools include event identification, event analysis, event response, and event management.
Data Mining And Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics is a subset of reporting tools in BI that identify trends and patterns in data.
The best BI tool in this category will be able to take data from various sources and find hidden patterns and relationships.
Businesses can use predictive analytics for several purposes, such as marketing, fraud detection, risk management, and more.
To provide more features, a BI power tool providing predictive analytics will also usually cater to data mining, statistical analysis, machine learning, and more features.
As you can see, business intelligence tools are not one size fits all. Various business intelligence tools are available, each with its strengths and weaknesses.
Features Of A Great BI Tool In Your Business
While I've touched on various features of BI tools in the above section, some are naturally more important than others.
In this section, I want to focus on these critical features, which are the basics you should consider when starting your business intelligence tool search. These key features are:
These features are just some things you should look for in a great BI tool. Considering all these factors is vital to ensure you get the best possible results.
Which Business Intelligence Tool Is Best? The BI Tool List To Consider
The best way to find the right business intelligence tool for your organization is first to understand your needs and then look for a tool that meets those needs.
While the top business intelligence tools may vary depending on who you ask, here is a list of BI programs I believe are the best at what they do.
SAP Business Objects
SAP Business Objects is one of the top platforms found in any list of bi tools as it features various analytics tools.
It offers many features, such as data visualization, dashboards, and predictive analytics.
This BI software provides a centralized suite for data management, analysis, and reporting.
Whether you want to share insights with your team or create a report for your boss, this BI tool makes it easy to get the job done.
Dundas BI
Dundas BI is another excellent software to consider as part of this BI tools list.
The software excels when it comes to flexibility in data visualization.
Dundas BI allows you to connect data from various sources and create stunning visualizations easily.
Powerful analytics provides data analysis effortlessly, leading to better decision-making capabilities.
Dundas BI is also scalable and can be customized to meet your organization's specific needs, whether they increase or decrease.
Zoho Analytics
Another BI analytics tool used by the top businesses is Zoho Analytics.
This tool provides an easy-to-use interface that makes it easy to access and visualize your data.
Transform your data into beautiful charts and graphs that tell a story and help you (and every stakeholder) make better business decisions.
Sisense
One of the best BI tools examples for gaining a competitive advantage is Sisense.
With the ability to build custom self-service experiences for business users, Sisense stands out for its end-to-end capabilities that allow you to perform competitor analysis and rapidly go from data to insights.
Seamless and simplified data preparation with its technology also helps users clean and prepare data for analysis without writing a single line of code.
Tableau Desktop
Tableau is a powerful platform and one of the fastest-growing data visualization tools in the Business Intelligence Industry.
It helps create interactive charts and graphs that can be displayed on laptops, mobiles, Tablets, etc. It also makes complex data analysis and computation much easier and faster.
Leveraging trusted and governed data sources, Tableau offers a secure environment for users to analyze data and create workbooks and dashboards.
The above list of business intelligence tools is not exhaustive, but it covers some of the most popular and effective ones available today. Evaluating your specific needs and requirements is essential before choosing a BI tool.
However, once you do that and with the right tool, you'll be well on unlocking the valuable insights hidden in your data.
What Is A BI tool? FAQ
Business intelligence tools help businesses make critical decisions based on various data sources.
A range of business intelligence tools are available on the market, each with its own features and capabilities.
From market research to market validation and beyond, finding the right business intelligence tool is essential for any business that wants to make the most out of their data.Knowing which business intelligence tool is best for your business is essential to getting the most out of your data.
There are a few factors you should consider when choosing a business intelligence tool, such as:
While there's a lot more to it, these three critical pieces of information will help you narrow your search for the tools that can help move your organization in the right direction.
The cost of a business intelligence tool can vary depending on the features and functionality you need.
Some business intelligence tools are free, while others can cost thousands of dollars per month.
It is essential to consider your company's specific needs when choosing a business intelligence tool to ensure you are getting the best value for your money.
Yes, business intelligence tools can be used as part of a business website.
BI tools can help businesses track website visitors, their behavior, and the conversion rates of their website.
Whether you are building a website for business from scratch or already have one you want to improve, business intelligence tools can be a valuable asset.Conclusion
Business intelligence tools allow you to gather, store, and analyze data to help you make better business decisions.
From business reporting tools to BI analysis tools, the best business intelligence tools can help you transform your business data into actionable insights. The above business intelligence tools list is by no means exhaustive, but it should give you a good starting point in your search for the right tool.
From starting an online business with no money to improving the process of how to make money online, business intelligence reporting tools can be a valuable asset for any business, unlocking hidden insights and helping you make better decisions.Last Updated on June 30, 2023 by Hanson Cheng