Business intelligence System is a set of analytical tools in the form of business information that is used to consolidate, analyze, store and access a lot of data in the context of business processes that lead to making decisions and actions with the aim of improving business or business performance.
Business intelligence provides an avenue for acquiring the knowledge needed to make good decisions. The business intelligence environment includes all the development, information processing, and support activities needed to provide reliable and highly relevant business information and business analytical capabilities for an organization’s business activities and for decision making.
Business intelligence explains a concept and method of how to improve the quality of business decision making based on data-based systems. Collections of raw data can be turned into information by analyzing and compiling based on the relationship between data by knowing what data to collect and in what context it is desired.
Benefits of Business Intelligence System
According to Turban, Rainer and Potter (2011), the benefits and advantages obtained by using business intelligence in an organization or company include the following:
- Increase the value of organizational data and information. By building business intelligence, all data and information can be integrated so as to produce a conclusion from business conditions that is easy to access and understand so that it can help managers make better decisions.
- Facilitate measurement of organizational performance. In measuring the performance of an organization, a measure called the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is often used. Business intelligence can easily show the achievement of an organization’s KPIs easily, quickly and precisely. Thus it will make it easier for the parties involved in decision-making to prepare anticipatory steps if there are indicators that indicate a problem or a target has not been achieved.
- Increase the value of existing information technology investments. Business intelligence does not always change or replace existing information systems, but only adds services to these systems so that data and information can be better represented.
- Improve cost efficiency. Business intelligence can increase cost efficiency because it can speed up someone in doing work so that it saves time and makes it easier to use. The time needed to search for data and get the information needed is getting shorter and the way to get it doesn’t require special knowledge.
1. Types of Business Intelligence
According to Turban (2007), there are five types of business intelligence, namely:
- Enterprise Reporting, used to generate static reports that are distributed to many people. This type of report is perfect for operational reports and dashboards.
- Cube Analysis, used to provide multidimensional OLTP analysis intended for business managers in constrained environments.
- Ad Hoc Query and Analysis, is used to provide access to users so they can perform queries on the database, and dig up information to the most basic level of transactional information. This query serves to explore the information carried out by the user.
- Statistical Analysis and Data Mining, used to perform predictive analysis or determine causal correlations between two matrices.
- Delivery Report and Alert, used proactively to send complete reports or provide warnings to large or large user populations.
2. Use of Business Intelligence
According to Darmawikarta (2003), business intelligence increases the value of organizational data and information. The existence of business intelligence facilitates monitoring of organizational performance, increases the value of existing investments, creates employees who have access to good information (well-informed workers) and increases cost efficiency. Here are some applications of using business intelligence to drive business value:
- Measurement, a program that creates a hierarchy of performance and benchmarking metrics that inform business leaders about progress towards business goals.
- Analytics, a program that builds a quantitative process for a business to arrive at optimal decisions and to conduct Business Knowledge Discovery. Often includes data mining, statistical analysis, predictive analysis, predictive modeling, business process modeling.
- Reporting/Enterprise Reporting, a program that builds a Strategic Reporting infrastructure to serve business strategic management, not Operational Reporting. Often involves Data visualization, Information systems executive, OLAP.
- Collaboration/Collaboration platforms, programs that get different areas (both inside and outside the business) to work together through data sharing and Electronic Data Interchange.
- Knowledge Management, a program to make enterprise data driven through strategies and practices to identify, create, display, distribute, and enable the adoption of insights and experiences that are true of business knowledge. Knowledge Management Compliance leads to Learning Management and Regulatory Compliance.
Business Intelligence system is a very important element in today’s business world and also in the future. Without BI, companies will experience difficulties in identifying problems that occur and it is also difficult to measure company performance.
If the poor performance cannot be detected, it will be difficult to fix it, which will end up hurting the company and making it more difficult to win market share even though the business strategy is good. Business Intelligence continues to develop along with business developments and is supported by ever-advancing technology and of course must be supported by good resources.