Every day, your business receives thousands of pieces of information that you accumulate without paying special attention to it. You accumulate data on companies, individuals who buy, products, timing, frequency of purchase, destinations, etc.

Have you ever planned to use this data to gain an advantage?

To exploit this data to its full potential, more and more companies are using Business Intelligence (BI) and Business Analytics (BA), a set of tools and methods to help people make strategic decisions, through the processing, analysis and exploitation of information.

Although these technologies have existed for almost twenty years, their democratization to businesses of all sizes is just beginning to be felt.

Soon, the exploitation of corporate data through these technologies will become an essential element for the success of any organization, beyond the quality of the product or the services it offers.

As an entrepreneur, it is therefore essential to ask yourself now about the most optimal ways to use the data that is already in your systems and just waiting to be exploited.

Some examples

The limits of what these data processing applications can accomplish are unimaginable. Here are four impressive examples.

Walmart

The technologies currently available on the market not only help businesses analyze data from a demographic, geographic and behavioral perspective, but also predict and act on future trends.

Walmart, for example, has a large inventory of millions of products. To adjust this inventory with current events, they resort to BI.

For example, if the weather forecast indicates a hurricane, their system will automatically detect this risk and predict the products that must be offered in larger quantities in stores - chocolate, water bottles, generators - according to observed past behavior in customers in this type of situation.

On a smaller scale, a retail company could use a similar system to predict the purchase of more air conditioners in the event of a heat wave, for example.

Adobe

Adobe Systems uses Business Intelligence to analyze tickets used in assistive software in order to prevent system failures. If the application observes events or behaviors that suggest a failure, it acts proactively to eliminate or mitigate those problems before they cause more downtime.

Nike by Melrose

Faced with a phenomenal rise in online sales (41% in its last quarter), Nike has just opened its first Live store, a hybrid concept between physical and virtual sales that is largely based on the technological advances of Business Intelligence. The company uses its online sales data and other web platforms to ensure that it has the most popular items in the region stocked in the store. Online booking of a meeting with a salesperson once in store, text message pickup service, "shoe bar" central, reserved shoes ready to test in a locker that open with a smartphone: everything is in place to enable a fast and user-friendly experience ... like on the web!

SMBs

Small and medium-sized businesses are equally able to find bold and original ways to use data analysis tools. There are now various ways to capture data to extract useful information and benefit from it.

For example, a seniors residence could very well use the information it collects through its surveillance cameras to record visitors' habits, and thus determine the additional material and human resources that they may need during the holidays.

Where to start ?

Do you want to embark on the great adventure of Business Intelligence? The first step, following the identification of your business challenges, is to list the data you have access to and how it can help you achieve your goals.

When you have a clear idea of what you would like to do, I strongly suggest that you consult with experts such as Present to determine what can be done based on existing technologies on the market and to involve the right partners to reach your goal.

Business Intelligence is about to storm the business world because it means profitability and viability. Eventually, the companies that will know how to best exploit their data will be the ones that will survive, at the expense of those that will be content to just offer a product of superior quality.

Be part of the future now!

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