SELF-SERVICE BI
In the early 2000’s the IT sector
was facing an issue of report backlog. Report backlog problem arises when the
data needs to be analysed by business users who are not so apt in technical or
statistical concepts. This led to the rise of self-service BI tools in the
market which really helped the sector solve the report backlog issues to some
degree. These tools made analysts more self-dependent with minor help from IT
department and hence it was easier for analysts to develop insights on data
with such tools. Today’s era is considered the era of schema free data where
the business analyst find it more quicker to work by themselves and not have to
rely on the traditional process that has been followed before of schema
development and developing an appropriate structure right and so this helps
analysts explore data almost immediately. Because self-service BI software is
used by people who may not be tech-savvy, it is imperative that the user interface(U I) for BI software be intuitive, with a dashboard and
navigation that is user-friendly. Ideally, training should be provided to help
users understand what data is available and how that information can be queried to
make data-driven decisions to solve business problems, but once the IT
department has set up the data warehouse and data mart that support the business intelligence system, business users should be able to
query the data and create personalized reports with very little effort.
For example, casual BI users who are
apt in IT skills, only need to be able to filter and categorize data. In a
similar environment, power BI adapters or business analysts might have to merge
local data from diverse sources on their own so they can quickly build or
enhance existing reports. Therefore, the need for self-service within a BI
environment varies depending on the user’s profile in an organization.
The
requirements of business may range from basic analysis to complex dashboards.
These
requirements can be categorized as below:
1. Modification
of reports and dashboards
Self-service
business intelligence tools enable business analysts work on reports and
dashboards. It is easier to filter and produce visual reports highlighting the key
indicators in the most insightful way. Furthermore, reports can easily be
adapted. The self-service tools in this way, provide users with a optimum level
of flexibility in the visualization and analysis of reports.
2. Creation of
Ad Hoc Reports and Dashboards
With new
predictive tools, it is easier for business analysts to work on reports with
predetermined report templates. They can create ad hoc reports and dashboards which
will further help business clients understand the business model with better
visualization.
3. Integration
of Private, Local Data
4. Modification
or Creation of Data Models
With better
visualization capabilities and being able to connect to any kind of databases,
self-service BI tools must enable business analysts to prepare their own models
with the most flexible interface. The business analysts can thus also act as
business data modelers, who don’t have to depend on the
Why is self-service BI important?
In most of the organizations today, business intelligence is used for a central data warehouse or data marts. Moreover, the process, design and software solutions that have been considered best practice in data warehousing for a long time are now are suddenly not sufficient to meet the developing needs of major organizations recently.
One of the major reasons why companies growingly adopt self-service solutions is to address the challenge of business departments to have access to data and information anytime and anywhere. To stay ahead in the brutal competition, companies need to act rapidly on new insights based on analytics. Traditional BI models, still suitable for minor operations, cannot offer the level of ease and efficiency that rapidly changing environment demands.
Changes in Self-service BI since last year:
·
While consultants and vendors see self-service BI as slightly more
important, the figures for business and IT users remain unchanged.
·
In financial services and utilities, there is an increase in
importance, but we are seeing a decrease in the manufacturing and public
sectors.
·
While the importance of self-service BI is rising in South America and
Europe, it is falling in North America.
· There is a
major increase in importance in Eastern Europe and France.
· The Adoption Rate Is
StagnatingSurprisingly, over the last few years, the adoption rate of
self-service BI hasn’t changed – despite about 15 percent of BI Survey
respondents saying every year they will implement self-service BI over the next
12 months. The percentage of respondents using self-service BI tools has
remained unchanged at about 55 percent since 2014.This is rather unexpected considering the high level of importance
companies attach to self-service BI. But the reason for this is probably mostly
a labeling issue. Since most solutions now support self-service BI use cases
and the marketing buzz around it has faded, many users are using these kinds of
functions on a regular basis and perhaps aren’t aware of the term
self-service BI.Surprisingly, over the last few years, the adoption rate of
self-service BI hasn’t changed – despite about 15 percent of BI Survey
respondents saying every year they will implement self-service BI over the next
12 months. The percentage of respondents using self-service BI tools has
remained unchanged at about 55 percent since 2014.
This is rather unexpected considering the high level of importance companies attach to self-service BI. But the reason for this is probably mostly a labeling issue. Since most solutions now support self-service BI use cases and the marketing buzz around it has faded, many users are using these kinds of functions on a regular basis and perhaps aren’t aware of the term self-service BI.
This is rather unexpected considering the high level of importance companies attach to self-service BI. But the reason for this is probably mostly a labeling issue. Since most solutions now support self-service BI use cases and the marketing buzz around it has faded, many users are using these kinds of functions on a regular basis and perhaps aren’t aware of the term self-service BI.
References:
https://bi-survey.com/self-service-bi
NOTE:The views expressed here are those of the author's and not necessarily represent or reflect the views of DoT Club as a whole.
