Business Intelligence (BI) and Cloud Computing go hand in hand. The agile Cloud Business Intelligence solutions are designed to make it easy for businesses to access data and enhance inner workings across different spectrums. The whole process entails data mining, performing analytical processing, querying and reporting. According to Klipfolio, the push by enterprises to embrace cloud has seen the adoptability of cloud based tools like online file collaboration and storage, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications and help desk software grow exponentially. Cloud BI applications can be hosted on various virtual networks, the largest being the internet.

The State of Cloud Business Intelligence

Compared to the traditional on-premise applications, the benefits enjoyed by Cloud computing for BI users include ease of use, quicker deployment, easy accessibility and scalability and elasticity. The year 2018 is witnessing soaring Cloud BI adoption across all industries. According to the latest Cloud Computing and Business Intelligence study published by Forbes Magazine, Cloud BI adoption in 2018 is expected to double the 2016 statistics. A whopping 90% of sales and marketing associates interviewed in the study agreed that Cloud BI was instrumental in getting their work done. The much anticipated market study also indicated that a respectable 66% of all organizations that see themselves as successful currently use one or more Cloud BI solutions to streamline business efficiency.

In terms of industry participation, the leading adopters in the year under review were Financial Services industry at 62 percent followed by Education and Technology sectors, which were all tied at 54 percent. The other sectors that returned high scores include Insurance and Retail and Trade sectors. Topping the list of the most preferred Cloud BI solutions providers according to the survey are Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and IBM Bluemix. The controlled study was undertaken by Dresner Advisory Service, and aimed to look at the end user deployment trends and attitudes shaping business intelligence and Cloud computing. Most enterprises see Cloud BI as crucial in broadening the analytics strategies. The highest growth was witnessed in the vast Asia – Pacific region, where countries like China and Australia are leading the charge.

The most requested Cloud BI tools of 2018 were Dashboards, Ad-hoc Query, Advanced Visualization, Self-Service and Data Integration tools. Businesses that have adopted these tools, site the need to offer real time feedback when undertaking various initiatives and achieving goals as the main reason for their decision. Across the Industry, people in the education sector showed great interest in Google Drive integration, connectors and Salesforce integration while those in the technology sector prioritized Salesforce integration above everything else. The other popular Cloud BI tools shaping the BI industry include Embedded BI, Ad-hoc Reporting and Embedded Analytics. Enterprises can benefit a lot from ad-hoc reporting since it curtails the amount of time and cycle it takes to obtain reports. This is achieved by ensuring the users remain independent of developers.

It is instructive to note that an effective BI solution is one that is actionable, appropriate and credible. Embedded BI is a new generation of Cloud BI solution that hands, end users unprecedented control to bring together analytics and reporting into the widely used app fabric and other crucial business processes. More importantly, Embedded BI integrates business solutions under the self Service BI umbrella, which collectively enhances end user experience through real-time analytics, visualization and interactive reporting. Embedded analytics solutions on its part, integrates analytic content with competence in operability. The most widely used analytics capabilities found within software applications include Dashboard and Data Visualizations, Self-Service Analytics, Benchmarking and Ad – hoc Querying.

How to keep your business competitive with Business intelligence
Businesses that have adopted Cloud BI or are looking to do so are prompted to make the decision as a result of competition and need to stay current. BI works by making information useful. It also guarantees faster access and speedy implementation. The most widely used BI data include business analytics solutions, KPIs and dashboards. According to Salesforce, the ability to access real time information through Cloud BI means you can make necessary amendments to keep your business on track with its objectives. In addition, you will also be able to:

• Track sales that are yet to close
• Identify who have been calling customer service desk, but to no avail
• Spot and rectify problems in the research and development
• Catch up with trends defining various aspects of business from purchasing to production
• Follow up on active campaigns
• Offer products, services and customer support in a more proactive manner