On the surface, it was difficult to discern the differences between Power BI and Tableau because both tools provide similar functions of visualization. So, I decided to solve some common analytic questions and see if there are differences in terms of user experience. A summary table is created, as shown below, based on the questions solving experience. Power BI provides powerful functions with moderate level of visualization, however, the learning curve to reach to intermediate level can be largely steeper compared to Tableau. Many times, to even solve a very simple problem, a Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) script was needed during the test. Same problem was solved by 3 times of clicking at Tableau. This DAX was more difficult to utilize compared to the Tableau’s scripting language and the absent of staunch Power BI user communities exacerbated the difficulty when writing DAX scripts. The user communities for Power BI are currently in a nascent stage, and many times, I had to go over the references which were mainly written for experienced programmers. Unlike Power BI, Tableau have strong user communities and they provide a quick fix, allowing a novice to solve intermediate level of questions. The absent of mature user community of Power BI should not be overlooked. The availability and utilisation of user communities are very important when choosing IT products, considering that web searching is the most common and effective way when to learn new technology
Considering this evolution, "in the past, analytics was reserved for back-room deliberations by data geeks generating monthly reports on how things are going. Today, analytics make a difference in how the company does business, day by day, and even minute by minute". (Hackathorn, R., 2013).
The data analytic process is one in which a large amount of information is collected using software specifically geared towards collecting, identifying and storing information for use by the company. The information is gleaned from different forums, with social media being the most rich and useful. The information is then quickly sorted and organized for use by the collecting agency (Turban, Volonino, Wood, & Sipior, 2002, p. 6). The use of data analytics really took flight in 2010 when different companies offered software that enabled a company to implement their own data analytics. This led to better marketing campaigns, improved customer relations and it gave companies using the software a bigger advantage over their competitors (Savitz, 2012).
In today’s companies, the analytics software plays the important role and guides the future activities to a great extent.
Each type of analytics as seen on the diagram above, could share a common sub group which could in turn have additional classifications. understanding and reviewing the different types of analytics systems and choosing those that best suite an organization is very helpful in determining the analytic plan for the future of the business. Succeeding in this, will definitely give a boost to the overall value of a business platform.
In spite of very huge data, reports, files, large investments made in web analytics, firms find it difficult to make business decisions. Many business leaders underlined the need to invest in people, but none have spelled it how much could be invested on the tools and people. Kaushik (Blog at kaushik.net) found and developed a rule for investment on tools and analyst to solve the problems in arriving at business decisions to become successful in business. He named it as 10/90 rule for web analytics success.
After reviewing the internship activity in chapter 12, “Industry: Healthcare” and completing independent online research, I have found helpful information on Business Intelligence dashboard best practices. As stated in the internship activity “Dashboards are a popular way to view business data” (Rainer, Prince, & Cegielski, 2014). In fact, Stephen Few sums up the definition of Business Intelligence dashboard in this sentence “A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives; consolidated and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance” (Lach, 2012). BI dashboards are a delivery method used to share information with appointed users or a number of individuals
Businesses today have access to significantly more data than any other time in history; however, most businesses are not capturing or using the data effectively. A report by the Aberdeen Group, “The Executive’s Guide to Effective Analytics,” indicates that “44 percent of executives are dissatisfied with the analytic capabilities available to them today, and that they often make critical decisions based on inaccurate or inadequate data” (Forbes, 2014). Luckily, CEO’s are beginning to recognize the need for analytics and more and more businesses are making a shift towards a data-driven business culture.
Healthcare is changing rapidly and so is the industry’s need for analytics and business intelligence. Many large healthcare organizations have been growing organically and through acquisitions. The rate of growth is so fast that it is nearly impossible to merge processes together. Due to the pressure of the external forces that are transforming healthcare and in the best interest to stay ahead, we have considered Business Intelligence as the forward strategy. Business intelligence technology promises to enable healthcare providers to
Company’s current position and ability to compete on analytics: I had worked for a healthcare delivery organization whose mission is to enhance the quality of life through improved health, prepare future health care professionals and discover new medical knowledge through research. It is the only Academic Medical center in the region and enjoyed a monopoly for quite some time. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the payment model changed from Fee for Service to Bundled payments. The organization was challenged to lower the cost of providing healthcare services without compromising quality of care or research. It had to invest heavily on implementing Electronic Medical Records and systems for reporting to regulatory agencies and insurance companies. The table below highlights the differences between Analytics and Business Intelligence. Note that the organization is in the early phase of implementing BI solutions.
Web analytics has changed a lot since the importance of both qualitative and quantitative data have been pressing businesses to be constantly improving. With the increase of data available to capture the importance of web data lies in translating the incoming data in ways that are actionable for the business. What good is data if it isn’t helping to improve? The important thing to remember with Web Analytics is that it is much more than just collecting and storing data. It is using that data in ways that provide insights for your business and lead to improved business decisions.
According to the author of “Build a Streamlined Refinery”, an on-demand orchestration for mixing traditional data and big data powers a Streamlined Data Refinery. This is also a first step in the direction of Governed Data Delivery, which is the delivery of integrated, credible and timely data to power analytics at scale no matter what the data source, environment, or user role is. This Governed Data Delivery sets the groundwork for smooth end user exploring and analyzing validated data blends from throughout the organization (“Build a Streamlined Refinery”).
To help sifting through and combining the right data in the right ways, businesses must develop analytical capabilities that far surpass today’s standards. The sheer volume of data impressive, that same volume can lead to confusion, or plain bad direction for decision makers. A great rule to live by in analytics is that “numbers tell THE story, ANY story can be told by the numbers.” What this means is that managers must be certain that they are using the right data set, and designing their analysis to provide an output that solves the business problem they are trying to solve, rather than just providing the answer they are hoping to provide. This is done through the deployment of analysis tools, those that are becoming more and more prevalent, and easier to use, along with building or hiring the capability into the organization. The skills needed for this work include, but are not limited to, a deep understanding of the business, and ability to communicate complex concepts in a way that is easily understood, and a mastery of statistical and analytical methods. While the first two capabilities ensure that the right data is used, and it is analyzed to yield a sound outcome, the final capabilities is often the most important, and biggest stumbling block for organizations.
analytics beyond commerce to healthcare strategies, hiring processes, and personal life (Bayan, 2015; Germann, Lilien, & Rangaswamy 2012; Tavana, Kennedy, & Joglekar 1996). Regardless of the industry, analytics have legitimacy absent context and provide insight to the working of a structure. Organizations could, and often dp argue, that awareness of the power of analytics is enough; however, for analytics to be of the greatest support, their merit and worth is not in the capture and analyzation of data but in the application of it within a specific context. Analytics provide insight that can be
Business intelligence (BI) and business analytics (BA) (sometimes used interchangeably) has revolutionized the way businesses use data and can be contrasted, for the purpose of this essay, in the following way: BI is raw data that has been transformed into meaningful information that provides historical, current, and predictive views of business operations and environment, and BA uses data and statistical methods to provide actionable information for decision makers. BI explains what is happening, identifies the issue, and provides decisions to be made and BA explains why an issue is occurring, what will occur, and what actions need to be taken. At the forefront of BI/BA technology is International Business Machines (IBM) with a very broad array of related products and services. Among the more popular products are its flagship analytics product IBM Cognos and its Predictive Customer Analytics. IBM’s Cognos Analytics allows business and IT professionals to prepare and distribute all types of business reports from all departments with an organization and access pertinent information such as financial reports, sales trends, production yields, and inventory on any device on an hourly basis. IBM also offers a Predictive Customer Intelligence solution, an integrated software which uses automation to acquire customer information such as buying behavior, web activity, and social media presence to model and “score” costumer behavior and provide customized actions so that a business
Hans Peter Luhn, an IBM computer scientist published a landmark article, A Business Intelligence System. In that book Mr Luhn defined Business Analytics, “The ability to apprehend the interrelationships of presented facts in such a way as to guide action towards a desired goal”. Essentially, he point to the core of what BI is: “a way to quickly and easily understand huge amounts of information data so that the best possible decisions can be made. Luhn did more than introduce and expand the possibilities of a new concept.