Are SMBs invited to the business intelligence (BI) party?
Executive
leaders
of
small
businesses
and
startups
frequently
lament
that
they
lack
the
same
access
to
data
and
insights
that
enterprise
competitors
and
other
more
entrenched
players
enjoy.
Executive
leaders
of
small
businesses
and
startups
frequently
lament
that
they
lack
the
same
access
to
data
and
insights
that
enterprise
competitors
and
other
more
entrenched
players
enjoy.
Most
SMBs
haven’t
fully
adopted
business
intelligence
(BI)
analytics,
citing
various
reasons
such
as
a
lack
of
scalable
technology
infrastructure
or
skilled
human
capital.
They’re
also
hesitant
to
invest
in
BI
because
of
the
perception
that
it
doesn’t
align
with
budget
and
operational
constraints.
Fortune
Business
Insights
predicts
that
the
global
BI
market
will
grow
to
$43
billion
by
2028,
up
from
$24
billion
in
2021.
However,
the
overall
adoption
rate
of
BI
is
just
26%
compared
to
80%
in
companies
with
over
5,000
employees.
These
findings
clearly
indicate
that
larger
corporations
use
BI
much
more
than
SMBs.
So,
what’s
stopping
them?
“There’s
no
single
answer
to
this
question.
One
issue
is
that
small
businesses
rarely
have
enough
resources
to
set
up
a
dedicated
data
science
(DS)
team,
nor
can
they
afford
to
bring
in
temporary
consultants,”
said
Itzik
Levy,
CEO
of
small
business
management
software
vcita.
“They’re
frequently
forced
to
make
difficult
tradeoffs
when
it
comes
to
priorities,
nobody
has
the
time
to
learn
a
new
specialized
skill.”
Mindset
is
also
a
problem.
“The
main
limitation
of
SMEs
to
implement
analytics
is
the
fact
that
they
think
that
these
new
approaches
are
only
applicable
to
large
companies,”
wrote
Jesus
Fajardo,
a
senior
data
science
analyst.
The
solution:
business
intelligence
tools
While
mindset
is
a
difficult
obstacle
to
overcome,
technology
and
budget
are
easier
ones
to
surmount.
Most
technology
functions
of
businesses
today
are
SaaS-driven.
They
have
leveled
the
playing
field
for
SMBs
and
helped
them
create
automated
processes
for:
-
Creating
invoices,
proposals,
and
quotes -
Sending
messages
and
scheduling
appointments
with
clients -
Tracking
time
spent
on
different
projects -
Running
marketing
campaigns
However,
the
data
that
goes
into
and
comes
out
of
all
these
processes
can
be
overwhelming,
complex,
and
expensive
to
collect.
That’s
where
business
intelligence
(BI)
apps
and
tools
come
in.
SMBs
that
have
undergone
digital
transformation
are
already
generating
data
relating
to
these
business
operations
disciplines.
With
the
right
BI
features,
they
can
derive
insights
that
help
meet
their
business
objectives
from
those
signals.
While
the
capabilities
of
actual
tools
vary,
it’s
important
to
understand
how
to
make
BI
work
to
your
advantage.
Small
business
owners
can
use
BI
to
do
things
not
normally
expected
of
them
and
hitherto
the
domain
of
enterprise
companies
–
such
as
analyzing
consumer
behavior,
estimating
market
trends,
forecasting
sales,
and
improving
customer
experience.
Let’s
break
down
some
of
these
advantages.
Make
informed
business
decisions
What
do
you
need
to
make
business
decisions
that
move
the
needle?
BI
can
help
you
in
the
following
ways:
Identify
market
trends:
Managers
and
analysts
can
use
data
collected
from
various
sources
to
identify
upcoming
and
maturing
products
in
the
market
and
changing
consumer
consumption
patterns.
They
can
then
use
this
data
to
measure
the
company’s
sales
performance
and
predict
future
outcomes.
Track
the
performance
of
your
business:
Business
performance
goes
way
beyond
revenue
and
profits.
BI
helps
you
set
goals,
map
out
tactics
to
meet
them,
understand
how
you’re
performing
vis-a-vis
these
goals,
and
what
changes
you
can
make
to
stay
on
track.
Compare
data
with
competitors:
Competitive
analytics
is
perhaps
the
biggest
benefit
BI
tools
confers
on
new
players
and
SMBs.
You
can
track
competitors’
strategies
and
performance
in
branding,
marketing,
production,
stock
market,
and
compare
it
with
your
own
over
a
period
of
time.
Increase
profit
margins:
Identifying
and
plugging
gaps
in
different
areas
of
operations
–
whether
it’s
sourcing,
marketing
or
delivery
–
can
help
SMBs
save
a
dollar
here
and
a
dollar
there
and
lead
to
significant
profits
at
the
end
of
the
year.
Predict
the
success
of
your
business:
If
you
know
where
the
market
is
going,
what
your
competition
is
doing,
as
well
as
how
much
you’re
selling
over
time,
it’s
a
matter
of
time
before
you
improve
your
forecasting
accuracy.
Provide
a
great
customer
experience
You
can
gain
valuable
customer
information
using
the
right
BI
analytics.
This
data
will
allow
you
to
better
understand
customers’
demographics
(such
as
age,
gender,
and
location),
shopping
habits,
interests
and
intents,
as
well
as
preferred
communication
channels.
You
can
then
go
a
step
further
to
see
how
customers
are
engaging
with
your
brand,
what
they’re
saying
about
your
products
(and
customer
service),
and
analyze
their
likes
and
dislikes
to
improve
the
efficiency
of
your
marketing
campaigns.
BI
can
help
you
answer
questions
about
your
customers,
such
as:
-
What
are
the
demographics
of
my
customer
base? -
Which
products
did
they
buy
more
of? -
Which
products
receive
the
maximum
complaints? -
What
new
trends
is
my
audience
gravitating
towards?
Each
of
these
answers
tells
you
a
bit
more
about
your
customers’
dynamics
with
your
business.
BI
is
all
about
understanding
the
customer
journey
from
the
first
brand
interaction
to
conversion.
For
example,
local
businesses
such
as
pavers,
roofers,
and
landscapers
can
find
out
which
of
their
services
are
more
in-demand,
what
designs
their
customers
prefer,
average
incomes
and
other
demographic
information,
etc.
This
helps
them
focus
on
the
more
profitable
customer
segments
and
engage
them
on
appropriate
channels.
Data
also
helps
you
improve
customer
experience
by
providing
personalized
recommendations,
targeted
campaigns,
and
automated
messages
based
on
shopping
behavior.
Improve
workforce
productivity
Remote
and
hybrid
work
practices
have
changed
the
way
most
organizations
operate,
leading
to
new
challenges
in
maintaining
a
productive
workforce.
Add
to
that,
the
organization
structure
itself
has
changed
in
many
companies
–
there
are
no
hierarchies
anymore,
and
teams
are
formed
and
disbanded
according
to
the
necessities
of
the
project
at
hand.
This
is
where
BI
can
provide
critical
insights
for
SMBs.
AI-driven
technology
can
bundle
up
years
of
HR
experience
and
enable
everyday
decisions
that
improve
employee
productivity.
The
right
tools
can
help
you
track
individual/team
performance,
analyze
strengths
and
weaknesses,
identify
skills
gaps,
and
create
a
rewards-and-development
progression
plan
that
will
lead
to
optimal
performance
from
each
employee.
Leverage
data
to
fine-tune
strategy
With
the
help
of
BI
tools,
SMBs
can
access
critical
data
on
customer
behavior,
social
media
marketing,
inventory
management,
and
more
–
in
real
time.
In
fact,
lean
companies
are
now
moving
towards
a
DIY,
smart
approach
to
data,
characterized
as
self-service
business
intelligence
(SSBI).
SSBI
is
all
about
allowing
the
end-user
to
interact
with
data
directly
as
well
as
manage
it.
The
more
control
your
employees
have
over
data,
the
more
chances
your
strategies
have
of
succeeding.
BI
provides
an
objective
analysis
of
how
your
business
is
performing
and
helps
identify
the
most
effective
strategy
you
can
use
to
achieve
stated
goals
and
targets.
It
provides
valuable
information
on
where
your
company
should
focus
its
efforts
to
increase
sales
and
drive
profits.
How,
you
ask?
-
SMBs
can
monitor
each
marketing
campaign
at
a
granular
level,
analyze
its
performance,
and
change
track
according
to
KPIs.
To
go
a
step
further,
a
small
or
local
business
can
even
monitor
global
competitors’
marketing
campaigns
to
a
great
extent
and
tweak
its
marketing
tactics
accordingly. -
BI
simplifies
traditionally
complex
forecasting
in
the
form
of
SaaS
tools
and
levels
the
playing
field
for
SMBs.
It
lets
them
accurately
predict
future
outcomes
based
on
past
data. -
Data
visualization
tools
enable
SMBs
to
lay
out
critical
data
visually
in
a
form
that
reveals
patterns
in
data
even
to
inexperienced
observers.
Business
intelligence
aims
to
help
leaders,
managers,
and
departmental
employees
by
providing
them
with
usable
key
information
at
the
right
times.
That
brings
us
back
to
the
question
of
mindset.
“Small
business
owners
need
BI
to
look
for
those
parts
of
the
business
that
are
driving
the
most
growth,
which
might
be
drowned
out
by
all
the
noise
of
getting
things
done,”
Levy
emphasized.
“Once
these
growth
levers
have
been
identified,
leaders
can
double
down
in
the
right
places
to
bolster
revenue.”
The
party
has
just
begun
A
recent
research
paper
identified
big
data
analytics
as
a
core
driver
of
operational
resilience
for
SMBs.
With
better
data
integration
and
analysis,
SMBs
can
enable
organizational
knowledge-sharing,
stay
competitive,
and
spur
innovation.
While
data
analytics
answers
specific
queries,
explains
why
events
took
place,
and
predicts
what
happens
next,
BI
builds
powerful
non-linear
models
that
drive
business
strategy.
Lean
SMBs
that
can
gather
timely
intelligence
from
the
powerful
BI
platforms
available
today
will
steal
a
march
over
the
competition
by
identifying
opportunities
and
threats
faster.
They
will
know
where
to
spend
their
money,
how
much
to
spend,
and
what
outcomes
to
expect.
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