The future of business intelligence looks extremely promising and is destined to assume a more central role in enterprises. However, to obtain the real value from BI, it is crucial to be aware of upcoming trends, understand how they can be incorporated, and have a roadmap in place to embrace technology across the business
2020 was a significant year for the business intelligence industry, and the trends of last year will continue to play out through 2021. However, the technology landscape is rapidly evolving, and the future of business intelligence is played now, with new and emerging trends to keep an eye on.
In 2021, business intelligence tools and strategies will become increasingly customized. Businesses of all sizes will no longer ask if they require increased access to business intelligence analytics; instead, it will be about the best BI solution for their specific business.
P3 founder and CEO, Rob Collie says, “If the business world has learned anything from the current global environment, it is that we must have the ability to analyse real-time data to inform business decisions. Today’s environment requires rapid response tools that can keep up with the pace of change and enable business leaders to respond to abruptly changing conditions. This speed is not only necessary but now expected.”
“In 2021, watch for BI solutions that deliver real, tangible results in five business days. With advances in BI software platforms, this timeline is both realistic and achievable. Gone are the days of months- or years-long BI projects that often churn for months just on requirements gathering. For your next BI project, don’t settle for a quick timeline that yields just a prototype or data dashboard mock-up. Demand, within five business days, real data insights that can inform business decisions and immediate action,” he adds.
Read More: Does a modern cloud based network require DDI?
Here’s a look at some of the biggest trends likely to dominate the business intelligence and analytics space in 2021.
Businesses are advancing from a static, passive report of things to proactive analytics with dashboards that help them see what is happening every second and give regular alerts. Features such as AI algorithms based on advanced neural networks provide a high level of accuracy in detecting anomalies as it learns from historical patterns and trends. This will help immediately register and notify the user of any unexpected events.
Another feature that AI has to offer in BI solutions is the upscaled insights capability that automatically analyzes the dataset without needing human intervention.
There is an increasing demand for real-time online data analysis tools. The arrival of IoT is bringing an invaluable amount of data that will promote statistical analysis and management at the top of the priorities list. Tech giants use AI in various ways that will enhance the machine learning process, and businesses worldwide should keep an eye on this process in 2021.
Data and information security will continue to buzz the world in 2021. With the sudden surge in technological reliance, the threats in cyber security were made even more evident as criminals targeted a number of companies globally.
The increased threat has resulted in the implementation of the GDPR in the European Union and the CCPA in the United States as building blocks for data security and management. Following in these footsteps, 2021 will see businesses adopting much more stringent data security measures.
In 2020, organizations witnessed the crucial value of real-time data and accurate updates for business analytics, enabling the necessary development of strategies to respond to a situation as it arises. Up-to-date data has become more critical than ever before, and since the world has changed, businesses need to adapt as well. Going into 2021, organizations and governments will use real-time data with live dashboards for quicker reactions.
Aaron Kalb, Co-founder and CDAO, Alation says, “proactive analytics phoenix” will rise from the devastation of the COVID crisis. When the pandemic turned the world economy upside down, organizations were forced to invest rapidly in business intelligence and data catalog software just to understand what the heck was going on and make basic business decisions. As we enter a new normal in 2021, they’ll be able to leverage those reactive investments to do proactive business process optimization.
High gear for data access is becoming the norm and is one of the reasons for the survival of some businesses this year.
Analytics industry trends will unquestionably have real-time data as one of the main drivers in 2021 and without a doubt, the tech industry will see more of it in action.
Prangya Pandab is an Associate Editor with OnDot Media. She is a seasoned journalist with almost seven years of experience in the business news sector. Before joining ODM, she was a journalist with CNBC-TV18 for four years. She also had a brief stint with an infrastructure finance company working for their communications and branding vertical.
