Modern businesses are actively migrating to cloud solutions. Why? Whether we talk about content management systems or storage platforms, cloud applications provide unique benefits that traditional on-premises approaches lack:
One of the domains where the cloud can find its wide adoption is business intelligence. In this article, we’ll explain why and how you can leverage cloud BI solutions and how to pick the right one.
Cloud business intelligence or cloud BI refers to the practice of managing data using cloud business intelligence tools rather than physical hardware. Unlike traditional BI, cloud BI provides more flexibility, scalability, and remote access to crucial business data.
Let’s assume you’re a small startup as of now. You can easily purchase a couple of physical servers. It doesn’t break the bank. Now, imagine that your business expands rapidly, new users come, and you have to connect more servers and tools. It can lead to a tremendous lot of strain.
Now, the crisis strikes. You no longer need so much infrastructure. Where do you put it? Sell? Switch to an idle mode? It would have been much more productive to rent the required computing power in the first place. By this, we mean getting a cloud BI solution.
Cloud business intelligence is about receiving real-time data so professionals can access the most recent information and predict trends.
Another advantage of cloud communication is the ability to scale resources up and down. It’s vital during peak seasons when you need to handle more requests and store more data. But as your demand dwindles, you can ditch unnecessary services. So, you can reduce your costs by refusing unnecessary services.
Cloud infrastructure also entails stronger data protection. Why? Because reliable cloud providers care about their reputation. They deal with security issues on their own, so you can analyze data, make informed decisions, and pivot your business strategy without digging into technical complexities.
Cloud business intelligence covers the following core concepts:
Now, on to the major differences between cloud BI and traditional on-premises BI:
| Aspect | Cloud business intelligence | Traditional business intelligence |
| Deployment | Quick setup. | On-site software installations. |
| Cost | A pay-as-you-go model. You pay just for the cloud BI software, which often offers beginner-friendly pricing plans. | The big upfront investment, including physical infrastructure, the business intelligence tools themselves, and ongoing maintenance. The more you scale, the more resources and manpower you’ll need. |
| Scalability | Flexible growth. Storage and processing power are easily scaled up and down, depending on your needs, without the need for additional hardware or on-site presence. | Hardware constraints. Switching to more complex data analytics or adding more data storage implies the need to upgrade your infrastructure or buy more servers. |
| Accessibility | Access anywhere, anytime, facilitating better collaboration between team members, departments, and even time zones. So, you can assemble a stronger international team with the best talents possible. | Office-only solutions, excluding the possibility to work remotely. |
| Security | Cloud protection. Leading providers like AWS and Microsoft Azure offer top-notch security protocols, including encryption, access control, and data security monitoring. | On-premises control. While you possess all the information, you’re fully responsible for protecting it from cyber attacks, data breaches, and penetration attempts. |
Key benefits of cloud BI tools
As you may have already guessed, desk software has a lot of limitations. While this approach may have worked in the past, it no longer cuts it due to the following reasons:
Cloud-based BI eliminates these problems, allowing for quick access to actionable insights on business performance and operations. Here are other reasons to opt for cloud-based business intelligence:
How does cloud BI work? To answer this question, let’s first provide the fundamentals of business intelligence. Organizations produce raw data every day in droves. Extract, transform, load (ETL) tools gather, handle, and store the data in data warehouses or platforms so that it can be used.
After centralizing the data, users can start analyzing it to get the needed answers. In short, business intelligence is the process of utilizing siloed data to make better business decisions.
When moved to a cloud, BI solutions integrate several data sources, such as web services, databases, and spreadsheets. After that, these data streams are combined and synchronized in a single cloud-based repository. With what objective? To guarantee precision and uniformity and prepare the data silos — whether it’s financial data, sales data, or data from your customer relationship management (CRM) system — for further analysis.
When the data is ready, cloud-based BI solutions perform advanced analytics on it using different technologies, such as:
The business intelligence tool shows the results using a cloud-based BI dashboard and reports, making it simple for users to spot data trends, correlations, and insights.
Here, multiple cloud tenants share the infrastructure managed by third-party providers like AWS or Microsoft Azure. This is the cheapest option, as all the parties involved separate the costs.
This option is ideal for businesses needing a highly secure environment, such as healthcare or financial organizations. It provides dedicated storage and computing resources. However, it implies higher costs compared to the public cloud.
This variant combines the best of both worlds. With a hybrid cloud BI solution, you can work with most of the data in a public cloud while storing and analyzing the most sensitive information in a private cloud.
All businesses can benefit from cloud BI, but some have embraced the technology faster than others.
Online merchants gather large amounts of customer data, including:
To prevent all these insights from falling through the cracks, e-commerce store owners should implement business intelligence.
Why is it critical? Knowing as much information about consumers as possible allows for creating personalized campaigns, boosting customer satisfaction, and fueling revenue growth.
Read also: The cloud e-commerce handbook: building a scalable and secure online store
Doctors are drowning in paperwork, leaving less time for patient care. Business intelligence (BI) solutions step in to enhance medical services and optimize operations. Cloud BI tools identify patterns by running through patient records and treatment outcomes and see how the disease may evolve.
Predictive analytics is among the vital capabilities for extending the human lifespan and improving the quality of life. Cloud computing makes it possible, preventing disease outbreaks and creating personalized care plans.
Financial organizations also experiment with business intelligence. As they leverage loads of transactions, investments, and customer financial information, they need a reliable solution to analyze data and present it in an understandable format. For example, it can be applicable for risk management and fraud detection.
Manufacturing organizations can introduce IoT devices and obtain data from them to optimize business operations. Equipment enhanced with sensors and AI-driven capabilities can send crucial information to cloud-based BI solutions informing about their current state. Thus, when something is about to break, you’ll get notified, scheduling preventive maintenance to avoid costly downtime.
Another benefit can be found in supply chain management. As the quality of goods depends on the speed and efficiency of sourcing raw materials and delivering finished products, implementing cloud BI solutions can bring in invaluable benefits:
According to Statista, the business intelligence software industry generates $27.87 billion in revenue in 2024 and is anticipated to reach $34.84 billion by 2028. In the face of rising data quantities, companies will need advanced business analytics solutions like augmented analytics and AI. These technologies are to provide even deeper insights and more efficient data analysis and data visualization capabilities.
Not all cloud BI systems are created equal. There is a diverse range of cloud BI vendors, and settling on one of them can become a huge burden. Let’s see how to pick the BI system that brings value to your specific digital business model.
Start by identifying your business goals, such as enhancing decision-making. Then, determine the type of business intelligence data you need to mine and how detailed it should be. This will help you align the cloud BI tool with your expectations and key performance indicators (KPIs).
Suppose you’re an e-commerce business owner. You store sales data in Salesforce and financial data in QuickBooks. You’ve built the website on Shopify, analyze traffic and ads using Google Analytics, and keep records in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. For data analysis to be a success, a cloud BI tool should connect to all these apps for seamless data integration.
While cloud computing is all about growth, some providers may offer differing degrees of scalability. Check how much you need to pay for adding advanced analytics features for medium-sized businesses or enterprises. For example, Power BI suits both small and large companies thanks to its robust scalability.
Besides powerful features, consider how easy it is to use the cloud BI tool. Look for visually appealing dashboards, intuitive navigation, and straightforward report generation. Plus, it’s advisable to opt for a tool that you can adjust to your needs, say, add specific data mining settings, change the layout, or access data on particular KPIs.
For instance, Tableau comes with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. It enables users with diverse technical experience to design impactful visualizations.
Here are the security features a cloud BI provider should offer:
QlikSense, one of the existing cloud BI solutions on the market, employs strong security protocols to protect sensitive information.
When you’re about to make a purchase, request a test drive for the tool. Some vendors may provide limited access to their products free of charge. This will help you determine whether the tool meets your standards. Ask your team to use the software and solicit feedback on its usability, strengths, and weaknesses.
Cloud computing and business intelligence are a match made in heaven. You don’t have to think about many roadblocks, such as purchasing more servers or hiring more IT specialists to manage the scattered data assets.
In this article, we’ve explained why cloud BI deserves your attention, in what sectors you can implement it, and how to find the perfect tool. However, from what I’ve seen from my own experience, something that looks valuable or attractive at first sight may not actually be so. Why? Because the tool should satisfy your individual requirements. And they can differ from one business to another.
With that in mind, lay a solid foundation by outlining your expectations and goals. Prioritize scalability, user-friendliness, and security. If you need more help and advice, feel free to get in touch with the Revolgy team.