Any business usually has a set of tools used to solve business problems and organization of data that enhance the business decision-making process. There are a set of business analytics tools used by SWAS Inc. to enable the management to evaluate customer data and enable proper decisions that drive business growth. Business analytics tools refer to the set of application software that retrieves data in its raw form and moves the data from one or more business systems and combines it in a repository for analysis and management by managers in an organization (Fortino, 2023, p. 5). There are three major business analytics tools available for SWAS Inc. namely IBM Cognos Analytics, Microsoft Power BI, and SAP Analytics Cloud whose comparison based on specific criteria will enable the selection of the best fit for the organization to improve its operations.
Business Analytics Tools
- IBM Cognos Analytics
IBM Cognos Analytics refers to a set of business intelligence tools available on-premise or on cloud that focuses on the area of descriptive analytics to help users see data through professional reporting, self-service data exploration, and dashboards. The business analytics tool provides end-to-end reporting and analysis capabilities. Users of the tool can be able to create interactive reports, visualizations, and dashboards because it offers a wide range of features for data modeling, data visualizations, and data analysis. IBM created the business analytics tools to ease the process of creating reports and dashboards in an organization since it requires minimal coding. Presently, there are new exploration features available in the latest version that highlight interesting relationships within data (Deeper Than Blue, n.d.). IBM Cognos Analytics business analytics tool will enable businesses to get professional reports and visual data on dashboards in a way that will improve their ability to get insights from descriptive data.
- Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics tool that provides users with an opportunity to turn data into opportunity. The tool is a collection of software services, connectors, services, and applications that work together to turn unrelated sources of data into coherent, visually immersive, and interactive insights (Microsoft, n.d.). The business analytics tool turns data that might be in an Excel spreadsheet or a collection of cloud-based data warehouses into visually recognizable data. The tool consists of three main basic elements. First, it consists of a window desktop application known as Power BI Desktop. It also consists of an online software as a service (SaaS) service called Power BI Service. Lastly, it consists of Power BI Mobile apps for Windows, iOS, and Android services. The elements are designed to let the user create, share, and consume business insights from data in a way that serves all the needs for business interaction (Microsoft, n.d.). If SWAS Inc. decides to select this business analytics tool, it will enjoy the ability to across mobile, desktop, and on-cloud platforms.
- SAP Analytics Cloud
SAP Analytics Cloud brings together planning and analytics in a single solution in the cloud. The business analytics tool enables users to move from insight into the data into action, simulate any scenario for better business decisions and outcomes, and generate plans from predictions in an automatic way. Such abilities help users drive and make agile business decisions (SAP Analytics Cloud, 2023). The tool enables users to create bleeding-edge analytics with a complete solution. Another element of the business analytics tool is its composition of the analytics and planning layer of the SAP Business Technology Platform. Thus, it supports analytics and planning enterprise-wide with smooth integration into SAP sources and applications (SAP Analytics Cloud, 2023). SWAS Inc. management will be able to utilize the full context of SAP data and bring analytics near the point of decisions and in line with the business.
Business Case SWAS Inc.
SWAS Inc is a large retail company that deals in a wide range of products at the company’s outlet and also provides delivery to online customers. In this context, the company requires support for its online and offline sales channels. The management of SWAS Inc. wants to implement a business analytics tool that will help it gain insights into customer behavior, inventory management, and sales trends. The selection of the best-fit business analytics tools should always be done based on different criteria basis. The analytics application that management settles on should recognize patterns in the data collected by the management, and predict future outcomes, events, and trends. Additionally, the business analytics tool should go beyond the mathematical calculations and computations and be able to offer insights that enable management to make decisions. Further, the tool should offer flexibility when a business changes from one level to another (Stubbs, 2013, pp. 162-163). The management needs to evaluate the three business analytics tools based on different factors to ensure they will be fit for the operations of SWAS Inc. for the next several years.
Determination of the Best Business Analytics Tool Fit for the Business
The three business analytics tools will be compared based on different selection criteria as indicated below.
- Ease of use and scalability
One of the criteria for the selection of the best-fit tool is easy to use. The tool should be easy to use and scalable to handle increasing data as the organization continues to grow. (Vengatesan, Kumuthadevi, & Kumar, 2022) Power BI has ease of use with an intuitive interface and easy-to-use drag-and-drop features (Microsoft, n.d.). IBM Cognos Analytics and SAP Analytics Cloud require the management to provide training for the users. However, on scalability, all three data analytics tools can handle large datasets (DuttaRoy, 2016, pp. 78-86). On this criteria, Microsoft Power BI is the best alternative.
- Integration capabilities
The tool should also have integrative capabilities with different data platforms and sources. A good business analytics system should allow seamless data collaboration and sharing (Stubbs, 2013, p. 56). The three business information systems tools offer great integration with different data sources such as SQL Server, Excel, and other databases. However, SAP Analytics Cloud integrates the best with SAP systems (DuttaRoy, 2016, p. 58).
- Cost and support functions
Any business entity is always in search of a business operations area that can lower costs. In this context, the tool’s pricing needs to be reasonable and its components should be easy to find in the market for support (Konasani & Kadre, 2015, pp. 20-23). Power BI is the cheapest tool since it has a low monthly subscription cost (Microsoft, n.d.). Although IBM Cognos Analytics and SAP Analytics Cloud are more costly, they have better support options and training resources. In these contexts, the choice on this criterion will depend on the organization’s options for training and support.
- Features and functionality
The tool should also have different features and functionalities for visualization and data analysis. This criterion is based on the need for the organization to get lots of data analysis and visualization aids to aid in decision-making (Gypsy, 2020, p. 356). From the analysis of the descriptions of the three tools, they offer a wide range of features including data analysis, data modeling, and data visualization. However, IBM Cognos Analytics is more advanced since it provides more features such as trend analysis and forecasting (Deeper Than Blue, n.d.).
- Flexibility and customization options
The last element for consideration in the selection of the best-fit business analytics tool is flexibility and customization options. The best tool should offer users flexibility and customization options to create their dashboards and reports (Albright & Winston, 2016, p. 415). All three business analytics offers users the opportunity to create their reports and have their dashboards. However, IBM Cognos Analytics offers users more options with customized reports with minimal coding (Deeper Than Blue, n.d.).
Recommendation of the Best Fit
The selection criteria and justifications done above indicate that the company has three probable business analytics tools to choose from. However, based on the analysis provided, cost and ease of use are options that should not be considered much when deciding to select a tool. The system that should be selected needs to be one where there are great support options from the company, offers more scalability, and have more features. SWAS Inc. needs to settle on IBM Cognos Analytics since it offers real-time collaboration capabilities, data blending, and even better reports and dashboards for the users. Despite the business analytics tool being more expensive than Microsoft Power BI, it offers better support options and more scalability. The case for SWAS Inc. business analytics tools selection criteria offers a great example of the factors any entity should consider when selecting the best-fit business information systems tool.
References
Albright, S., & Winston, W. (2016). Business Analytics: Data Analysis & Decision Making. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Deeper Than Blue. (n.d.). IBM Cognos Analytics. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from Deeper Than Blue: IBM Business partner: https://www.deeperthanblue.co.uk/solutions/analytics/ibm-cognos-analytics/#:~:text=Cognos%20Analytics%20Consultancy-,What%20is%20Cognos%3F,and%20self%2Dservice%20data%20exploration.
DuttaRoy, S. (2016). SAP Business Analytics A Best Practices Guide for Implementing Business Analytics Using SAP. New York: Apress.
Fortino, A. (2023). Data Mining and Predictive Analytics for Business Decisions: A Case Study Approach. Herndon, Virginia: Mercury Learning and Information.
Gypsy, N. S. (2020). Data Science Fundamentals and Practical Approaches. BPB Publications.
Konasani, V., & Kadre, S. (2015). Practical Business Analytics Using SAS: A Hands-on Guide. New York: Apress.
Microsoft. (n.d.). What is Power BI? Retrieved April 17, 2023, from Microsoft Build: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/fundamentals/power-bi-overview
SAP Analytics Cloud. (2023, April 17). What is SAP Analytics Cloud? Retrieved https://www.sap.com/products/technology-platform/cloud-analytics.html#:~:text=SAP%20Analytics%20Cloud%20brings%20together,automatically%20to%20drive%20agile%20decisions., from https://www.sap.com/products/technology-platform/cloud-analytics.html#:~:text=SAP%20Analytics%20Cloud%20brings%20together,automatically%20to%20drive%20agile%20decisions.
Stubbs, E. (2013). Delivering Business Analytics: Practical Guidelines for Best Practice. New York: Wiley.
Vengatesan, G., Kumuthadevi, K., & Kumar, N. (2022). Business Analytics and Intelligence in Digital Era. Thane, India: Alborear (OPC) Pvt. Ltd.
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