Top 10 Recommended Business Intelligence Platforms

A Business Intelligence Platform is a tool or a technology which helps businesses make smart decisions by gathering, understanding and visualising the data. It is a part of the company's business strategy to improve the user experience. The main purpose of these platforms is to convert data into a meaningful resource to stay ahead of the competition. 

According to statistics given by Statista, the average amount spent on an employee in the Business Intelligence software market is projected to reach 6GBP in 2023. This shows the growth and impact of these platforms in making data-driven decisions. Learn about Business Intelligence Platform, which is a software tool that aids in the collection, comprehension, and visualisation of data for businesses. Read more! 

Table of Contents 

1) Why do companies need Business Intelligence Platforms? 

2) Top 10 Business Intelligence Platforms 

     a) Google Marketing Platform 

     b) Microsoft Power BI 

     c) Qlik 

     d) Oracle Analytics Cloud 

     e) Sisense 

     f) SAP Analytics Cloud 

     g) Looker 

     h) TIBCO Spotfire 

     i) Hubble 

     j) Tableau 

3) How do you select the right BI Platform? 

4) Conclusion 

Why do companies need Business Intelligence Platforms? 

Companies need Business Intelligence Platforms to upscale their business using structured data. The platforms help them to study the data and make informed decisions. Listed below are some of the main reasons why companies need Business Intelligence Platforms. 

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To know customers 

With an effective Business Intelligence Platform, businesses can understand their customers well. Understanding customers includes studying their buying patterns and preparing customer profiles. It helps companies to understand the requirements of customers and make products accordingly. Companies use data to answer four main questions which are: 

a) What products do customers buy? 

b) When do they buy? 

c) How do they purchase, or through which platform do they buy? 

d) How often do they buy? 

Finding answers to these questions helps companies to provide better customer experience through personalised offers, discounts, etc.
 

 

Improved efficiency 

Businesses can use BI platforms to improve the effectiveness of the company, thereby increasing revenue. BI platforms make data available across all departments, reducing the waiting period for reports and improving team productivity. These platforms help business organisations to stay informed all the time. 

Competitive advantage 

Business Intelligence Platforms give companies information about what competitors are looking for and what their strategies are. This gives an upper hand while providing products and services to customers. Companies that track all the minor internal processes always tend to stay ahead of the game. The software helps them to track all these processes. 

Identify trends 

The BI tools help businesses track external markets and quickly identify market trends. Detecting market opportunities improves the chances of making huge profits. With the use of software tools, companies can analyse customer data and identify new markets to step in. 

Create marketing campaigns 

When the BI platform gives businesses real-time key metrics, they are equipped with various key metrics such as: 

a) Customer acquisition cost (CAC) 

b) Cost per load (CPL) 

c) Click through rate (CTR) 

It allows you to understand employee productivity, profits, details of sales in a particular region, performances of a particular department etc. It can also help you in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of business operations.

 

 

Top 10 Business Intelligence Platforms 

Business Intelligence Platforms help the organisation in various ways. In this section, we have curated a list of the top 10 best Business Intelligence Platforms companies make the most out of it. 

Google Marketing Platform 

It is a marketing platform created by Google. The main purpose is to assist companies in making effective advertisements and management of websites. It includes Data Studio, Google Analytics, etc. These tools have free versions, which have highly functional features like Google Analytics. 

However, its exclusive suite of marketing tools to establish your online presence is available only on the Google Marketing Platform's commercial version. Advanced analysis, 24/7 emergency support, and implementation support are some main features of Google BI platforms.  

Microsoft Power BI 

Microsoft Power BI helps businesses to integrate with other Microsoft apps like Teams, Dynamics, Power Automate etc. Its ability to process almost any data source including Google Analytics makes it a perfect choice for any organisation. 

Power BI is accessible from any corner of the world with just a smartphone in hand. It also makes it easier to collaborate on any file at the same time. Power BI is easy to use, and it also helps you save a lot of time for the agile teams. If you want to make the most out of data to make informed decisions, you must consider using Power BI.  

 

 

Qlik 

Qlik is a developer of data intelligence software. QlikSense and QlikView are the company's main two products. QlikSense is a Business Intelligence platform which does integrated analysis whereas QlikView is an analytics tool. Qlik Sense and Qlik Insight bot are some of the offered features.     

QlikSense provides one of the best and most advanced visualisations to read data better. The interactive visualisations respond in a gist to any selection made by the user. It also offers Qlik GeoAnalytics, where advanced visualisations and precise calculations are made. The high-quality graphics make it visually pleasing as well so that people can make informed decisions. 

In Qlik, sharing reports and applications with other users working through a centralised network is easy. Some of its notable features are: 

a) Data storytelling 

b) High mobility 

c) Scalability 

d) QIX engine to process more data 

e) Convenient  

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Oracle Analytics Cloud 

It is an AI-driven analytics tool which gives precise analytics. It offers “augmented analytics” which helps you ask questions in any language and receive responses quickly. Alongside augmented analytics, it also provides data discovery and natural language processing.  

Oracle Analytics Cloud offers analytics through cloud-based service. It is a tool deployed in the cloud. Discussed below are some of the reasons why one should use this tool. 

a) Use strong, verified data to tell your stories 

b) The help of AI to make things easy and better 

c) Easy to buy and use with its simple contract. 

d) Doing everything on the best cloud  

e) Allows you to pitch perfect reports with Oracle’s cloud enterprise edition. 

Sisense 

It was primarily known as Periscope data as it allows you to create your own analytics apps. It helps to develop analytics software for your organisation or clients. It can also be used as a product which is ready to use. Some of its top features include: 

a) Embed 

b) Mashup 

c) Analyse 

It helps you to gather information from various sources and compile it into a single repository. It also allows you to create smart analysis using its powerful visual reports. Its easy-to-use interface helps one to adapt quickly to this BI platform. Sisense is also very fast as it uses a 64-bit computer and multi-core CPUs. 

SAP Analytics Cloud 

It is one of the first BI apps to cover all the three essential aspects of a business which are: 

a) Planning 

b) Data visualisation 

c) Predictive analytics 

SAP Analytics Cloud is a SaaS-based product to help businesses deal with analytical tools. It is the best option if you are planning to work on R&D, trying to make better sales or simply allocating your market shares. One of the latest additions to SAP Analytics Cloud is that it provides an additional predictive analysis to plan business operations. 

Some of its key features are: 

a) Augmented analysis 

b) Business planning 

c) Real time cloud insights 

d) Customised dashboard 

e) Collaboration 

f) Live sync of data 

Looker 

As the name suggests, it is a data discovery platform which is purely browser-based. It interacts with almost all the SQL databases or data warehouses. Compared to the other BI platforms, Looker can be easily installed and used as it is not dependent on local servers like other BI platforms.  

It also offers a data modelling language known as LookML that helps users work with ease as it doesn’t require expertise working with SQL. Its main features include  

a) Integrated insights 

b) Data driven workflows 

c) Custom application 

TIBCO Spotfire 

TIBCO is a software company that provides integration, management and effective monitoring through business software. Spotfire is their search-oriented analytics platform. It is an AI-integrated platform that helps businesses to make: 

a) Performance forecast, 

b) Provide recommendations, and 

c) Do predictive analysis 

It is known for its impressive functionality. It is also easy to use when compared to other BI apps, thanks to its impressive drag-and-drop user interface design. It also offers real-time analytics, intelligent visual analytics and forecast analysis.  

Hubble 

It is a tool which is designed to manage financial performance. It is usually a cloud-based tool but can also be installed. Hubble includes applications for planning, reporting, budgeting, analysing, etc.  

In its planning and forecasting application, one can make plans, monitor reports, and allocate budgets. Once users are done with this step, they can transfer all the data to ERP. It also allows users to track the company’s KPI and other performance indicators supported by ERP to make informed decisions. In addition, it offers a set of pre-built templates, customisable dashboards, and more to make users' lives easy. 

Tableau 

Tableau is one of the first businesses to provide an analytics platform and a self-service Business Intelligence. It helps in creating various types of charts, graphs, images, dashboards, etc., to make storytelling using data more convenient. It also offers a variety of features making it one of the most sought-after Business Intelligence tools.  

Some of the key features of Tableau are:  

a) It supports data discovery and helps users respond to questions quickly 

b) Programming knowledge is not required 

c) It enables you to connect various sources that certain BI tools don’t support 

d) It supports a centralised server to manage all the data sources in an organisation 

It is one of the most popular brands in the BI industry. It covers various important features such as VIzQL, analytics and collaboration. There is an open-source version of Tableau known as Tableau Public, which allows users to explore and share data publicly online. 

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Tips to select the right BI Platform 

It is a difficult task to choose the right BI platform when there are a lot of options available in the market. It is important to understand the requirements of the business before selecting any tools. Discussed below are some tips to select the suitable BI platform for your company. 

a) Choosing a renowned Business Intelligence Platform is the basic principle to follow. It is also important to note that the chosen company’s primary goal is to provide data-driven insights to make informed decisions.  

b) The second and most important step is to choose a platform that meets the organisational requirements. The platform should be capable enough to evolve with technological advancements and user creativity.  

c) Scalability is another factor to consider while selecting a BI Platform. When your business expands, the app or software should be able to expand with it.  

Conclusion 

Business Intelligence Platforms help businesses to collect, merge, analyse and convert data into a meaningful piece of information. It allows the planning of strategies that help improve business outcomes and revenues. With the right BI platform by your side, the opportunities are plenty to upscale the business. 

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