Reducing product prices, restructuring space, announcing new products, diving into new markets – do organizations make these decisions at impulse? Not really. Most organizations make decisions after collating and analyzing valuable information from the data they retrieve. This is exactly why business analytics is a crucial concept, as it helps organizations analyze historical data by using statistical methods to make decisions.

Why the Need for AI in Business Analytics

Now more than ever, organizations are collecting a large amount of data. GPS networks, IoT devices, security tools, website analytics, call logs, – these are only a part of the tools that collate data for businesses to extract important information. As big data gets bigger and more complex, standard business analytics software finds it difficult to process this data.

Think of how much information industry giants such as Amazon collect. It is not possible to depend on conventional business analytics tools to retrieve valuable information and develop strategies from this immense amount of data. That is why organizations combine the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with business analytics – to democratize data and enhance adoption.

Major Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Business

While AI works in different aspects of modern business enterprises, the following are the 3 major applications of AI in businesses:

Work Automation

AI-driven work automation might cut over 9 million manufacturing jobs in the U.S. alone. Manufacturing companies are making use of AI technologies for smarter use of their resources. For example, General Electric is minimizing its machine downtime through data collated from AI-powered smart sensors. These sensors are installed on its manufacturing equipment. The combination of AI along with Internet of Things (IoT) technology, is helping companies reduce costs, improve productivity, and create more specialized jobs.

Sales and Marketing

AI technologies are allowing marketing personnel to automate most of their routine tasks through acquired data while they can concentrate on key sales areas, such as increasing sales and customer satisfaction.

Customer Service

Various estimates reveal that 30% of all online retail transactions are done on the mobile phone. With the increasing use of mobile apps, online users access messaging, and social media apps the most. Business enterprises are now majorly investing in AI-powered chatbots to offer customer communication and service. For example, Royal Dutch Airlines is allowing traveler check-ins and flight notifications through its Facebook app.

AI in Business Analytics

We know that AI is a field that creates intelligent machines capable of problem-solving and performing tasks requiring human intelligence. For AI systems to learn and perform as intended, they need data. This is why AI in business analytics is an ideal use case. Business analytics is all about data which is exactly what AI needs. Deploying AI solutions in business intelligence means processing a huge amount of data in seconds. This way, managers can easily analyze data and export valuable information to enhance decision-making and strategy-building. AI systems connect data from different sources and provide real-time notifications and analytics. In this manner, businesses can immediately act on the insights once the data enters their system. This helps managers in short-term day-to-day strategies as well. Another great benefit of AI is its prediction capabilities. This is also known as predictive analytics.

Predictive analytics predicts future events and outcomes with the use of real-time/historical data, as well as machine learning techniques and statistical algorithms. Business analytics integrated with AI can offer organizations dependable predictions on future trends such as customer responses/trends, price fluctuations and so much more. This is a powerful tool that helps organizations be proactive, ahead of the competition, and less likely to be caught off guard.

What are the Benefits of AI Integration with Business Analytics

The following are the benefits of AI with Business Analytics:

• Cost-Effective: AI automates all time-consuming processes and reduces manual work that needs to be done by people. The system sends alerts that need human attention only in case of real need, thus minimizing the cost related to human personnel.
• Better Efficiency: Implementing AI in business analytics means categorizing raw data immediately and sorting it faster. This process minimizes the steps that were previously essential, therefore, offers greater efficiency to organizations.
• Greater Precision: AI technology not only automates certain processes but also eradicates cases of human error. Managing large amounts of data is time-consuming and exhausting which increases the chances of mistakes and errors. However, AI enhances accuracy and quality.

Conclusion

Business analytics helps organizations increase their market share, and drive revenue and profitability. It is an important tool for understanding how different processes work and what can enhance the overall business performance.

However, today’s competitive environment and the vast amounts of data available have pushed organizations to think outside of the box and proactively lead the market. This is why implementing AI in business analytics today is not a “nice to have” feature, but a necessity to stay ahead of the competition.