Data Intelligence: how to make the most of data with BI tools

Today's software tools are designed to help companies use business intelligence and analytical models to make the most of their organization's data. In this issue of Data Analytics, we look at the use of data discovery, location intelligence and operational intelligence applications.and operational intelligence, with the aim of achieving operational and strategic benefits.

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3 BI tools for harnessing Data Intelligence

Today's organizations have a wealth of data at their fingertips, which they are seeking to better manage and use to their advantage. Using data operationally and strategically is important for businesses of all sectors and sizes in today's competitive marketplace, and today's software tools aim to help companies leverage Business Intelligence (BI) and analytical models to maximize the usefulness of organizational data.

Three applications from the BI and analytics sector are gaining prominence in the world of data intelligence, thanks to their ability to help organizations leverage the information in their possession and address their unique business challenges. But before we take a closer look at these applications, let's first look at some general criteria for evaluating BI and analytics applications on the market today. To make effective use of data for operational and strategic considerations, organizations should look for applications that :

• be easy to install, configure and use
• offer self-service (SaaS) tools, so that users can analyze their data with little or no technical assistance
• incorporate new technologies to speed up the data analysis and interpretation process, such as mobility, easier access to a greater number of sources, content search capabilities, real-time capabilities, etc.
• incorporate vertical market-specific functionalities

Beyond these basic criteria, there are many other aspects to consider when evaluating BI, as today's applications offer many useful functions for aspects specific to business operations.These include the search for information models (with data discovery applications), the understanding of relationships between location and data (location intelligence) and the interpretation of business performance (operational intelligence). In this article, we'll give you an overview of these three main types of BI applications, and explain how their analysis of information can improve business processes and strategies.tive processes and strategies, and finally, we'll detail the specific functionalities that should be provided by each type of solution.

1. Data discovery software

Data discovery applications are specifically designed to provide users with the ability to connect to and explore a wide variety of sources. The absence of predefined data search paths enables users to interact with data and easily draw clear representations from it. Users can take advantage of these tools not only to quickly create prototypes, but also to provide more robust data exploration and representation projects where necessary.

With "ease of use" and "freedom" as the foundation on which these solutions operate, data discovery applications enable organizations to quickly access a wide range of data sources and begin to explore, analyze and gain deeper insight into the information in their possession.

Key features of data discovery applications include :

• Data integration capabilities
• Exploration tools and advanced cross-database exploration capabilities
• Exploration capabilities for both structured and unstructured data
• Powerful, practical data modeling and representation tools
• Enterprise and content data search capabilities

2. Location Intelligence software

It should come as no surprise to anyone that, for certain types of business, the ability to detect and pinpoint the exact location of very specific information can be vital. For example, the ability for a distributor to detect where certain categories of customers are located, and to know their buying behavior, can help determine whether it makes sense to set up a new branch or store in a given area. Another example: being able to assess the frequency of crimes committed in a specific location can be extremely useful to the police station in adopting security measures where they are really needed.

In response to user needs and demands, BI software publishers have enhanced their data analysis solutions with geolocation information and geographical representations. In addition, the availability of sophisticated mapping applications, such as those provided by Esri or the more popular mapping services (such as Google's), has encouraged and increased the use of geographic information for many and varied purposes, including BI.

Location intelligence applications contain the following elements:

• Data integration options, particularly from real-time sources (RSS feeds, sensors, transactions, etc.)
• Powerful representation tools, including maps and related information
• Analysis of spatial relationships
• Tools for incorporating standard or customized geometric figures, such as points, lines, polygons or other figures, to identify data associated with specific locations/regions on maps
• Dynamic recalculation and updating of data based on navigation on a map or on the user's GPS position, detectable on the devices he or she is using
• Augmented reality features such as the association of real objects with relevant information

3. Operational Intelligence software

Operational intelligence solutions have been created to bring visibility to business functions. By collecting information generated in real time, this type of tool gives access to the data generatedThis type of tool gives access to data generated directly from the source, before analyzing it and observing business activities to determine performance and detect risks and opportunities.

Many organizations work with gigantic quantities of data that need to be collected, monitored and interpreted in real time. In such organizations, real-time information analysis is essential to provide the parties involved (information workers and key decision-makers) with the information they need to make the right decisions, before putting them into practice within a reasonable timeframe.

Operational intelligence helps companies make these decisions through dynamic (real-time) business analysis, providing real visibility on operational data and, in extenso, on business operations.

Operational intelligence applications include the following features:

• Data integration options, particularly from real-time sources (e.g. RSS feeds, sensors and transactions)
• Tools for data mining and powerful detection capabilities
• Representation tools
• Multidimensional analysis options
• Real-time data monitoring tools
• The ability to create data mashups
• Enterprise reporting tools

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Improving market knowledge through data intelligence

Business Intelligence solutions go beyond what was previously possible by using and manipulating organizational data to achieve operational and strategic objectives. Data discovery, location intelligence and operational intelligence are three important types of Business Intelligence that provide today's organizations with new and more comprehensive ways of gaining in-depth knowledge of their business.

To find out more about how data and analytics are used to succeed in business, read Jorge Garcia, Business Intelligence and Data Management Analyst at TEC, who recently published a report that explains how to combine Big Data and analytical models to reussify commercially, giving an overview of how companies can leverage Big Data with advanced analytics services to improve their business diagnostics, marketing, customer service and financial strategies.