Business Intelligence Vs Analytics: Underlying The Difference

The excessively competitive business landscape today demands you to act as swiftly as possible. Decisions have to be made quickly to keep the firm moving forward. But is it possible for any company to have the right set of data? Business intelligence vs analytics- haven’t we all heard about it? 

Both of them are terms often exchanged, although there are some differences between the two. This article focuses on how BA and BI both work collaboratively to make better decisions for any business. So, let’s just get started!

What’s Business Intelligence? 

According to Global Business Diary, BI or business intelligence refers to a technology-driven procedure that does the data analysis job for you. With its help, a company can deliver actionable information that is further executed, managed, and worked upon to make informed decisions. The ultimate goal of business intelligence initiatives is to help a company increase its revenue and boost operational efficiency. 

The overall architecture of BI includes more than the software only. In this case, the data is usually collected and stored in a place that’s accessible by the entire organization. As a matter of surprise, business intelligence data might include real-time data and historical information that has been collected from source systems. 

What’s Business Analytics? 

Taking the business intelligence vs analytics discussion forward, the next on our list is Business analytics. So, what’s that? In the simplest words, analytics or BA is the procedure of converting data into insights and enhancing business decisions. Predictive modeling, data management, data optimization, and forecast simulation are all tools that help to create data insights. 

It heavily relies on quantitative, operational, and statistical analysis, although data visualization development can present your findings better. This is the reason why it is imperative to have a balanced technical background and strong skills of communication. At the basic level, BA usually includes various other processes, too. 

Business Intelligence Vs Analytics: How Are the Two Different?

As mentioned earlier, a lot of small-sized entrepreneurs and startup owners confuse business analytics with business intelligence. It is only after undergoing a set of procedures that one comprehends the difference between the two. Here is what you should know about each one of them and leverage in your business operations:

One is Descriptive, the other is Predictive

One of the primary differences between the two is that business analytics is more predictive-analysis-centric. On the other hand, business intelligence stresses more on descriptive analysis. With the help of business intelligence, one gets to analyze historical data and predict upcoming trends. It is used for sales forecasting or product recommendations. 

Business analytics make use of predictive modeling that has the ability to predict different variables and their impacts. For instance, you might be a retailer who wants to know how price impacts the sales volume. In this case, you might seek help from a business analyst who assists you in predicting the effect of raising prices on your end results.

Reporting vs Applying

When it comes to business intelligence vs analytics, the reporting vs applying debate exists, too. These are the two ways that influence the former fields. BI processes are mostly about generating data reports, whereas BA processes deal with data-driven insights. They are later applied to take necessary actions or make decisions. 

BI tools and applications help in reporting, while BA applications focus on using similar data wherever decision-making comes into being.

Ease of Operations

It is due to business intelligence systems that it becomes easier for businesses to collect, analyze, and store data. Those with little to no technical knowledge can also operate this software. It lets them access all sorts of critical data without making detailed reports or writing codes- something which is quite difficult. 

Contrastingly, BA is a bit technical and might need a statistical understanding. In order to function in business analytics software, one must be well-equipped with Python and other programming languages. Since it includes tremendous data from various sources, BA can sometimes be a bit resource-intensive and time-consuming.

Applications of both

Among business intelligence vs analytics, the former and its application generally include:

• Cloud industries assist in gathering consumer data from various sources and implementing them to create customized experiences for consumers.
• Yandex Metrica lets users track site visitor statistics and adjust them accordingly. 
• In order to keep track of leads and contacts in an organized manner, Insightly CRM Pro is mostly used. 

The subset of BI, business analytics, makes use of mathematical and statistical techniques that analyze enormous datasets. Using them, businesses can extract logical data. BA software helps brands to make better decisions and identify patterns that already exist in data sets.

Managers vs Analysts

Another key difference between BA and BI is that managers consider data to make decisions. On the other hand, analysts deal with information to acquire answers to questions. Managers generally manage the finances and operations of a company, including its production, sales, and marketing. These operations are done mostly on the organization’s behalf.

Business intelligence vs analytics are also different because analysts produce management reports for other stakeholders. They might also perform analysis or research on the company or client’s behalf. This also entails the use of automated tools, such as scraping tools that collect information from a database, evaluate it, and return it in the same format.

The Bottom Line

So, which one should you choose for your business among business intelligence vs analytics? BI professionals are usually responsible for creating suggestions depending on their data analysis and making necessary changes for potential improvement. 

But on the other hand, business analysts identify ways to improve processes and make them more streamlined. Although they are different, both BI and BA have a common goal- to make business operations better. 

With this guide at your disposal, I believe you can extract ways to discover which one suits you better. Until then, happy reading!