Business intelligence is what enables a number of businesses around the world turn their raw data into useful information, which in turn is used for critical business decision making. BI is not just an option anymore; it has become a norm for organizations big and small. But is every company using BI as it should be – in real time?

For a majority of organizations, data analysis is all about after-the-incident analysis. That means reactive analysis is the primary form of data analysis. Proactive techniques or investigative tools are used by a meager 20 percent of organizations, who also leaned towards use of data analytic tools, dashboards and analytic scorecards, according to a survey conducted by SunGard.

Use of BI tools

At a time when there is data overflow, the use of proper BI tools is necessary for accurate analysis and understanding of the available data is also important. But there are data discovery tools and then there are the traditional BI tools. What should companies use for better results? The answer is both, as and when needed.

Data discovery tools have come as a boon at a time when the need for quick results is on the rise. These tools are excellent when organizations need an answer to a single question, and need it fast. The data discovery tools, however, are not designed to deal with bigger data issues as the analysts are required to build each and every query from scratch, thereby creating another data repository that cannot be integrated with the existing systems for day-to-day analytics.

Traditional BI is your reliable tool when you want automated data analytics, without relying too much on data scientists and their opinions.

Businesses rely on manual data analysis

But even at a time when business heads know that real time data analysis could do their business a world of good, organizations are focusing on manual data manipulation and BI initiatives for specific departments. This results in wasting a lot of time as bringing in data and then integrating it is a time-consuming task for the analysts, who are forced to move data to and back from spreadsheets to other documents. This is especially the case in finance and the energy industries. According to SunGard survey, only 13 percent of the companies questioned used modern BI techniques like predictive analysis.

Many systems to a single one

Companies that have been focusing on department specific BI initiatives aren’t ready to ditch all those existing BI tools for a single BI system for the entire organization. They aren’t willing to let go of the expensive and state-of-the art systems they have invested in as they are the best and deliver results as wanted. Also, the current and new data models they wish to integrate may not be in sync, which means organizations would have to again develop a common business model before being able to move the data into a single system. For this reason, companies prefer to use middleware to connect the existing and new systems. They also prefer using analytic tools like Business Objects, Tableaux, Cognos and Microstrategy to get results, even if it means they have to send more time and put in more effort.