PATRONS
Embracing business intelligence
Business intelligence is becoming a key part of the toolbox used by companies with access to datasets to provide insights on every part of their operation. Darren Turner, (pictured) business intelligence consultant at Air IT, explains what this involves and its benefits to businesses.
WHAT IS BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND HOW DOES IT WORK? Business intelligence – or BI – is a term that refers to the collection, organisation and analysis of a company’s data to present insights that can drive better decision- making and optimise performance. Data is now produced at such
speed – and in such vast quantities – that traditional end-of-month spreadsheets are no longer fit for the job.
Modern BI platforms present
clear and insightful data in a visual, easy-to-digest format. This enables a “single source of truth” approach, meaning BI can be adopted throughout a business, with all departments basing their decisions on the same data.
Insightful data is available in real
time, so businesses can spot trends and make decisions in advance.
BENEFITS OF BI A modern BI solution, with a well- structured view of a team’s performance data, means users have access to live data at any time of the month. The ability to act on insights
sooner allows businesses to spot internal trends and improve inefficiencies before the opportunity has passed and the data becomes irrelevant. This eliminates the guesswork and intuition so often involved in business decisions. Not only does this save valuable
time, but it also empowers managers with the ability to
respond to performance niggles or operation inefficiencies as they occur. This is a huge shift from the traditional end-of-month ordeal, wherein managers could be spending a day or two collating and manipulating data to present to their board or team.
‘Insightful data is available in real time, so businesses can spot trends’
Some of the additional
advantages brought about by BI have been highlighted during the process of Air IT’s recent expansion. The potential challenges posed by integrating multiple businesses have
been simplified thanks to an accurate, one-view report of performance across the group. Bringing together data from
multiple sources bridged the gap between each business, removing silos and allowing for full visibility.
FUTURE OF BI Many still see BI as an added benefit that is nice to have, but in truth it is becoming a competitive advantage that is impossible to ignore. Businesses have masses of data
at their disposal, regarding customers, performance, marketing, supply chain, sales, finances – the list goes on. But to put the data to work and
enable sound business decisions, it needs to be timely, centrally managed and easy to digest.
Save our high street, warns e-commerce expert
As Boohoo takes over Debenhams and shares Arcadia Group brands with fellow online fashion retailer Asos, it leaves a gaping hole in the high street. The companies have mainly absorbed behind-the-scenes employees including buyers, designers and digital teams while thousands of retail jobs have been lost after passing up the chance to save the majority of stores. But Purpose Media managing director Matt Wheatcroft, whose agency
helps retailers and other businesses to succeed online, has warned the industry can’t completely abandon bricks and mortar – saying failure to
commit to saving the high street could lead to e-commerce brands suffering too in the long term. He said: “While trends for buying online are increasing, brands that fail to
recognise consumers will still crave the physical and emotional experience of shopping in store may also struggle to achieve success over the long term. Consumers still want to see, touch and try on garments and products. They will not always want the hassle and cost of returning goods. “Once restrictions are lifted, this pent-up desire will mean that
consumers will want to be outdoors enjoying the social interactions a good high street shopping experience has to offer.” Matt believes the high street will eventually bounce back, but the
retailers that survive will be those adopting intelligent and integrated marketing strategies, enabling them to meet demand with a combined online and offline offer. He also urged brand owners to work alongside city centre managers to design high streets that create attractive and vibrant shopping experiences that don’t exist online, combining retail with cafés, pubs, restaurants and leisure facilities. “The long-term solution will be to embrace digital marketing techniques
that include robust online and offline offers,” he said. “Savvier retailers with long-term vision are using the data gathered from
Purpose Media managing director Matt Wheatcroft
30 business networkMarch 2021
their customers’ buying behaviour, either digitally or at the till, to provide tailored offers that drive both in-store footfall and online sales. Additionally, trends like having click and collect pods will continue to grow as complimentary brands commit to sharing floorspace in order to boost online and offline sales, and create footfall for each other.”
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