2014 Technology Trends: Business Intelligence Analytics

One of the best ways to leverage technology in order to make your business more profitable is to take advantage of the latest trends. 2014 presents business owners with dynamic new trends that are improving operations and providing the competitive edge. Over the next week we will highlight three of the most important trends that your business can take advantage of, beginning with Business Intelligence Analytics.

The Value of Knowledge
There's an ancient proverb that says, "Knowing is half the battle." In the trenches of the competitive business world, you will want to take advantage of as much data as you can gather in order to arm your company with knowledge that can neutralize the competition. If knowledge is half the battle, then you're likely already set up for the other half of the battle, which is having an IT infrastructure in place that can gather and analyze data from as many relevant sources as possible.

You likely already have most of the equipment in your office that can achieve this goal with your IT infrastructure, now it's just a matter of knowing how to use your technology and installing the needed tools to take advantage of this business intelligence trend. The value of knowledge gathered by your company's data-collecting tools is that it will give you fresh insight into different aspects of your market. This insight will empower you to do things like concentrating your marketing resources on a more specific audience that could be interested in your product or service.

Know Your Customers
You can collect and analyze feedback from your customers via tools like social media, online surveys, customized mobile apps, and more. With business intelligence tools, you have the ability to process this data so that it can be clearly presented in such a way that it's understood by every department. This will allow your business to better meet needs, put out a more relevant offering, and increase efficiency.

Know Your Staff
Additionally, you will want to take advantage of new information tools that can collect and process information about your staff. This can improve communication within your office and decrease the amount of costly mistakes. Often times, the best ideas that are used to propel a business to the next level, come from employees on the front line. If you have the tools in place to better understand your staff and process their valuable insight, then your company and everything it does will grow by leaps and bounds.

Know the Past and the Future
You can use Business Intelligence technology to analyze your company's sales records from the past and then compare these figures to what your sources are informing you about market trends. Basically, when it comes to business intelligence technology, the more you know from as many sources as possible will lead to more informed decisions, and even the development of a solid business plan that you can be confident about.

Know What Data-Collection Tools You Need
Achieving dynamic results like this from Business Intelligence tools can be as simple as installing the latest analytics applications on your network. For example, applications that can monitor and process what happens on social media (both your pages and your competitors), as well as analytics tools for your company website giving you information about the site's traffic--like information about where the visitor is from, what businesses they represent (including contact information), and what pages they viewed and how long they viewed them--will take the guesswork out of how the Internet benefits your business.

Don't underestimate the value of business intelligence. This technology is a hot trend that more businesses are taking advantage of, including your competition. The only way to win the battle is with knowledge, and Directive can provide you with an arsenal of business analytics tools that will lead your team to victory! Call Directive today at 607.433.2200 to learn more.