What is self-service BI? Data analysis familiar with self-service BI
BI tools began to spread in the 1990s, and with the advent of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) around 2000, it became easier to acquire data from multiple systems, and many companies introduced BI. I proceeded.
However, the initial BI was difficult to design, build, and operate due to its complicated structure, and it was not easily utilized on a company-wide scale including general employees. However, recently, BI that is easy to operate and can be used by everyone has appeared, and data analysis has become familiar.
Initial BI that was not widely used
Traditional BI, which has been popular since around 2000 as the beginning of the data utilization era, is called " enterprise BI ". Enterprise BI mainly supports the formulation of management strategies, and although various analysis functions have been automated, cooperation with each system (database) in the company that is the basis of data extraction, data processing, and data processing The operations from aggregation, analysis, and output were quite complicated. Therefore, it is rarely used by employees who do not have knowledge of data, and it is mainly used only by specialists such as information system departments, data scientists, and data analysts.
However, with the passage of time, the importance of data in corporate activities has been pointed out, and the need for data analysis has increased dramatically in recent years. There is a growing demand for BI that can be used by non-experts, even for general employees. Thats where Self-Service BI came in.
“Anyone can use” self-service BI
Self-service BI was developed with the goal of being easy to operate even for field end users who do not have advanced IT knowledge or skills. The feature is that it has an interface that can be easily handled on the screen without any special knowledge about programs and functions. In conventional enterprise BI, specialized knowledge was required to add numerical values and minor corrections to graphs, and it was necessary to rely on IT departments, but in self-service BI, it feels like Excel or other general apps. It can be operated.
This makes it easier for employees in the sales and marketing fields to check, add / modify data, and create reports. Not only management, information system departments, and data specialists, but also staff who are active on the front lines of the field can now access BI when needed, and data analysis and utilization have become familiar.
Recent self-service BI has evolved further, with some being accessible not only from corporate PCs, but also from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Needless to say, the spread of smartphones has progressed rapidly, and the need for access from mobile devices has increased. With mobile-enabled self-service BI, you can easily view, add, and modify reports on the go. Hybrid BI is also emerging that combines the strengths of enterprise BI and self-service BI.
Typical tools for self-service BI
Let's take a closer look at the characteristics of self-service BI, using "Tableau", which has the top share among self-service BI, as an example.
"Tableau" can be easily executed by intuitive operations centered on drag and drop, from data extraction of the linked existing system (database) to analysis and visualization of analysis results (report submission). .. For data visualization, just select the necessary items and it will automatically apply the appropriate graph format, and it also has various visualization functions such as mapping on a map, making it easy to visualize data assets. It can be "visualized". It also supports data reference and editing from mobile devices.
In addition to being able to use abundant samples as a reference when analyzing data, there are also introduction menus related to installation design for data extraction, design / construction / operation for operation, and development of dashboards, etc. You can start using it. Even if you don't have any knowledge about IT, you can handle data without the support of IT department, so it is a self-service BI that can be used by anyone. In the case of "Tableau", it also has a function to share analysis results with the team and support idea creation by exchanging comments.
As we have seen, self-service BI represented by "Tableau" has the convenience of being easy for anyone to use, so companies that want to promote data utilization without having employees with specialized knowledge, etc. It is used by companies that want to promote data driven led by end users, companies that want to stimulate collaboration by utilizing on-site data and lead to innovation creation, and companies that want to make decisions more quickly than before. On the other hand, it should be noted that while it has become "usable for everyone", there are some areas where more thorough data governance is required.
There is also a service that eliminates anxiety about introduction
With the advent of self-service BI, BI tools have become even easier to introduce, but it seems that many companies still feel hurdles toward their introduction. In addition, there are companies that have introduced BI once, but are still struggling to make good use of it.
The "BI Concierge Service" provided by Hitachi Solutions can be conveniently used in such cases. With this service, when introducing BI, the optimum system can be selected according to the needs of the user company, and the performance and usability of the selected system can be confirmed in advance. Regarding the review of existing BI, we evaluate the usage status with a diagnostic tool and propose improvement measures. We support companies that are considering speeding up decision-making based on data and utilizing it for various measures through total selection, evaluation, and diagnostic services that include combinations with data warehouses (DWH) and data collection tools. To do.
Summary
BI has emerged as a tool for utilizing the huge amount of data accumulated in a company, but since the initial enterprise BI required specialized knowledge and skills in design, construction, and operation, users were required to use the information system department or It was limited to some IT and data specialists.
However, as we have seen here, the advent of self-service BI, which can be easily handled by ordinary employees who are not familiar with IT and data, has made it even easier to utilize corporate data assets.
If you want to introduce BI, realize data-driven, and win further business development, why not take this opportunity to focus on the various possibilities that BI has.
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