3 Trends In Business Intelligence For 2018

Business Intelligence is an incredibly valuable tool for business. Not only is it growing at a rapid rate, but the technology that can collect and analyze data is rapidly changing as well. Here are a few of the trends we are expecting to see in 2018.

Visuals Matter

The internet has shown that visuals matter. On Facebook, posts that have images constitute the majority of the posts with the most “likes” and comments. It has been reported that each minute of the day, sixty hours of video are downloaded via YouTube. We are a visual society, and we will start to see this play a bigger role in Business Intelligence in 2018. One of the quickest ways to understand data is by being able to see it. To stay relevant, images will need to be customizable with graphics that go beyond charts and graphs. It will also be important that the images you use can seamlessly transition from smart phone to desktop to any other visual media source. Look for advancements in analytics visualization in 2018.

Heads in the Cloud

While cloud computing isn't new, there are still a significant number of people who don't understand it or who don't even know they are using it. As more and more people see the benefits of cloud computing, there will be an increase in the amount of people adopting this technology, and the cloud will become a destination for data mining. One trend we anticipate for 2018 is that more and more businesses will begin to collect and analyze this data. Companies that utilize cloud analytics will be able to gather data faster and be the first to spot trends in their industry. Before you know it, everyone will have their heads in the cloud.

The Internet of Things

Another trend in Business Intelligence we expect to see this year revolves around the Internet of Things. Simply put, any and everything that can be connected to the internet, will be. For example, your web-based alarm clock will know you woke up at seven o-clock, and will be able to tell an app to start your shower so that the water is warm when you get in. Your keyless door lock will communicate to your work calendar that you left the house late and will miss your scheduled phone meeting, then your work calendar will reschedule the meeting for you. Everything will interact with everything else.

If everything around us is communicating, then a plethora of data is being passed around, and if you are in the BI business, there will be an incredible opportunity to develop a way to collect this data and make it relevant to the world. To use a simple example, if said alarm clock is telling your calendar that you overslept, there may become a trend here. Perhaps you oversleep most frequently on Wednesdays. If this data can be accessed and communicated to you via BI, you might adjust your schedule and forego scheduling anything important on Wednesday mornings. In 2018, we believe the companies that can use BI to harness data from the internet will be at the forefront for the future of Business Intelligence.

We are extremely excited for what 2018 holds. With technology advancing as rapidly as it has been, we're sure there will be many more surprising and exciting trends to watch out for. If you are a BI company, make sure you aren't left behind. If you are a company that contracts with a business intelligence company, make sure that you are getting everything you can out of the data that is out there.