Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world, economic recovery seems to be a top priority for companies across the globe. In these uncertain economic times, businesses are increasingly prioritizing analytics and business intelligence.
Business intelligence (BI) tools are expected to play a key role in the rebuilding of companies in the post-pandemic era. Over the past year and a half, we have made some close observations about how companies have adapted to the ongoing health crisis.
Among them, we have noted that companies are now prioritizing investing in business intelligence tools to get back on their feet. As cloud computing continues to make inroads across the technology space, businesses are moving from making tactical infrastructure decisions to taking the required measures to enable digital transformation.
You can check out some noteworthy examples of digital transformation in business in our recently published article.
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Data-driven Transformation
At present, our economic recovery will have a different shade than those in the past. Innovations and new technologies particularly cloud computing will spearhead this transformation. Besides, data science and other branches tied with data will also remain key to the overall transformation.
Businesses should focus on training and helping their workforce leverage data to accelerate the transformation and improve their problem-solving skills.
Companies Focus on Business Intelligence and Data Analytics during the Pandemic
Businesses who are eyeing digital transformation are expected to stay clear from their counterparts who do not prioritize investing in digital tools. We are seeing more and more companies embrace business intelligence tools that are powered by machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI).
According to a survey conducted by 451 research in 2020, a whopping 95% of respondents said that “AI” is critical for their digital transformation [1]. Why are AI and machine learning becoming such a hot commodity in the current business landscape?
There are plenty of reasons for that, the number one is the ability to cut down costs. Other motivations include enhancing workplace productivity, boosting sales, improving product development, and business agility.
A lot of firms from across the world are introducing new initiatives revolving around the use of data analytics and business intelligence tools. Business leaders are gradually realizing the importance of data analytics for success in the future.
Why is Business Intelligence Your Ticket Out of Crisis?
As mentioned before, the pandemic has ruffled the feathers of the global economy. As a result, stakeholders and business leaders are prioritizing cash flow and operational efficiency to get back on the right track.
Businesses of all sizes should formulate strategies to protect their assets, boost cost-efficiency, and also spot inefficiencies.
Informed decision making
The pandemic has compelled leaders to resort to quick decision-making to avoid huge losses and stay ahead of the curve. For instance, some politicians were showered with praises for their early preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus. But do you know why they were able to take swift action? The answer is, they all had access to accurate information.
Similarly, even business leaders need to make informed decisions during the pandemic to race ahead of the competition. As workforces moved to a remote working model, operations have become more complicated. As a result, managing employee productivity along with boosting business productivity was a major challenge.
Business intelligence platforms can help businesses take these challenges head-on to fill the gaps with quantifiable data.
Improved Employee Performance
Let’s say that a major chunk of your workforce is now working remotely. Now, if you want to find out who your top performers are so that you can appreciate their efforts, how do you do that?
Business intelligence tools have the ability to pull data from customer relationship management (CRM) and time tracking software and rank the performance of all employees. This enables companies to easily identify who their top performers are and reward them accordingly.
Say Goodbye to Menial Data Work
Businesses looking to improve productivity and operational efficiency need to stop spending time performing menial data tasks. If your company is working with outdated or inaccurate data, it could severely impact your decision-making process.
Data analytics and business intelligence tools can help companies cut down the time spent on data gruntwork. These tools can quickly identify trends and track profitability in real-time, saving you time and resources on non-productive data work.
Remember that no matter how sophisticated your BI tool is, it will only provide the best results if the data it is working with is of the highest quality.
Seamless Customer Service
The best BI tools in the market allow you to store and access customer data in a single place. This means that you can enhance customer targeting and segmentation to provide the best service to your customers – a factor that is expected to be a dealbreaker for many during the pandemic.
Brands that are working on improving their customer experience along with efficient use of data are expected to outperform their competitors in the long run. Besides, these brands are also likely to generate excellent customer reviews and customer loyalty.
It’s Now or Never!
As a leader, there are some tough decisions you need to make to determine the growth of your business. As the pandemic continues to change the nature of information technology and business, there is no better time to invest in data analytics and business intelligence tools.
Data and what you do with it will remain the cornerstone of your business’s success even after the pandemic. Right from enabling better decision-making to improved customer satisfaction, business intelligence tools have the potential to launch your business to the next level.
Despite the major disruptions caused by the pandemic, new opportunities and avenues have opened up for businesses to explore. AI and machine learning will take pole position as new technologies that will drive digital transformation in the upcoming years.
Business intelligence and data analytics will have a key role to play in resurrecting your business during the pandemic.
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Feature Source: StockSnap from Pixabay
Image 1 Source: David Schwarzenberg from Pixabay
Image 2 Source: 200 Degrees from Pixabay
Source:
[1] (2021) “The State of AI Adoption in 2021” impact [online] Available from: https://www.impactmybiz.com/blog/state-of-ai-adoption-2021/ [accessed September 2021]