Today we’re exploring the topic of Business Intelligence and how it evolved in recent years. Some even talk about a true revolution of BI as the data volume became huge, and all sorts of tools made advanced analytics available to anyone involved in the process, not just analysts. As spreadsheets took a backseat and made way for insightful data visualization and business dashboards, entrepreneurs and CEOs started to pay more and more attention to Business Intelligence. To thoroughly explore the subject, we spoke with one of Georgia’s top venture capitalists, David Kezerashvili.

As a top investor and entrepreneur, he’s in the first line of battle regarding business intelligence and upcoming trends. Stay tuned for his valuable insight regarding BI and tips on how things will evolve.

Artificial intelligence changed the way bi works

There’s a lot of talk about Artificial Intelligence over the past few years, and there’s a good reason for it. The progress registered with AI has implications in so many industries and businesses that it simply can’t be overlooked. The data collection and processing capacity has grown exponentially by combining Artificial Intelligence with hyper automation and engineering. AI, together with machine learning, revolutionized the interactions with data management and analytics. An AI algorithm based on advanced neural networks has the potential to switch businesses from static, reactive reports on events that already happened to proactive analytics and predictions.

Furthermore, through its upscaled insights capacity, AI can automatically analyse a dataset without human interaction. It’s an incredible time gain method that can provide more accurate results. Businesses can also access the results without needing a data scientist or someone with a strong IT background.

Data security and its role in BI

One more hot topic that is surely going to occupy a main seat in the future when talking about Business Intelligence, is data security. Implementation of regulations, like the California Consumer Privacy Act, or the GDPR, were the first steps towards building the framework for data security and digital personal information. The topic of data security can be split into two main discussions:

• Making sure the data mining process to feed your BI tools isn’t targeting any sensitive or personal information that you’re not allowed to use
• Protecting the gathered data and keeping it safe from cyberattacks 

Both directions that involve data security in the BI context require a proactive approach from businesses and managers. Especially after all the waves generated by the whole Cambridge Analytica scandal, it’s vital that companies make sure where their data comes from and how they manage all the information. Business Intelligence tools need to be constantly upgraded from a cybersecurity point of view to include various safety protocols and encryptions where needed.

The importance of visualisation and data discovery

Having lots of data to use is one thing, but making it accessible to your employees and key stakeholders is a totally different ball game. Data discovery scores are very high among the business intelligence trends by importance.  The increased demand for data discovery tools that will continue in the next few years reflects a shift towards extraction of insights and data usage. The use of online data visualization tools is a critical resource for producing relevant insights and building a decision-making process using the collected data. In other words, the Business Intelligence tools need to come with interfaces that are:

• Flexible and agile
• Easy to use
• Deliver insight in reduced time
• Allow facile handling of a high volume and variety of data

To sum everything up, it’s all about how the data is being displayed. Instead of numerous spreadsheets that look like The Matrix, the trend is to use dashboards, graphics, and real-time visualization techniques that allow users to better understand what they’re seeing. Furthermore, out of all senses, visual information is processed the best by humans and that’s another reason why visualization will play a huge role in the future. Building a proper dashboard is almost as important as making sure you extract the right type of data.

Mobile business intelligence

How many entrepreneurs and CEOs do you see sitting at their desks nowadays? Well, right now, you don’t see anyone due to the pandemic. However, it was long before COVID that the business environment was a fast-paced one, to say the least. Over 3000 industry professionals identified mobile business intelligence as one of the most prominent emerging trends and have turned it into an important sector for FinTech start-ups. The idea is simple but important, when you’re off from one meeting to another, there’s so little time to go over important data regarding your business.

The market penetration for mobile BI is still growing, and better modern mobile dashboards are being launched. Companies will most likely implement mobile solutions to allow entrepreneurs and stakeholders to make decisions on the go. Not to mention that a mobile BI interface could allow companies to make faster decisions regarding any event happening outside office hours.