Businesses have the ability to make use of all the data in order to process effective decision-making in the industry. The use of Business Intelligence and Business Analytics is often identified as leverage to make use of the data that can improve their business operations. Business Intelligence and Business Analytics are terms which are often used interchangeably. Businesses mostly identify Business Intelligence as a subset of Business Analytics or vice-versa, although it is often debated.
The following blog would find the differences between Business Intelligence vs Business Analytics, which would help in understanding the ways in which business leaders choose to make use of different tools and techniques for the business to grow.
What is Business Intelligence?
Business Intelligence is mainly identified in business organisations as the process that is used for conducting day-to-day business operations most efficiently. The use of various business intelligence tools and techniques by the organisational leader is for collecting and acquiring data that can enhance workflow, conduct efficient operations as well as produce reports which help in achieving business goals. These various tools include spreadsheets, online analytical processing, reporting software, data mining software, etc.
What is Business Analytics?
Business Analytics may be identified as a way of using statistical data in understanding and predicting the potential of a business for future growth. Accordingly, the use of quantitative tools for Business Analytics is made so that a business is able to identify what its future customers would like or what their future interests are going to be. The use of Business Analytics tools is mainly used for conducting business functions like regression, predictive analysis, forecasting analysis, text mining, correlational analysis, etc.
What is the difference between Business Intelligence and Business Analytics?
It is important to note that Business Analytics tools are often used within the realm of Business Intelligence. However, they still contain certain key differences which make business leaders define Business Intelligence versus Business Analytics. These key differences can be explained as follows:
Current Needs vs Future Requirements: Business Intelligence makes use of the information and data from the past operations of the business to display the current needs and state of the business. Strategies are outlined based on the current market conditions and business situation in the industry. On the other hand, Business Analytics makes use of the past and current data of the organisation to build strategies that would enable future operations of the business. The primary goal of Business Analytics is to make improvements in current activities to drive productivity for the business in the future.
Descriptive Analysis vs Predictive Analysis: The use of Business Intelligence within an organisation is to provide qualitative data which points out what is happening within a business now and what has happened in the past while identifying the various reasons behind it. It uses Descriptive analysis to evaluate the same. In the case of Business Analytics, the focus is more on the quantitative data which allows for the identification of the trends and patterns within the industry, suggesting the reasons for its occurrence and the similar results which might occur in the future. Accordingly, predictive analysis is used for the evaluation of the trends and patterns in the future of the industry.
Managers vs Analysts: Business Intelligence is helpful in collecting data which can be presented to marketers, managers and accountants who may be able to decipher the data without professional expertise. These data can be used to make informed business decisions using the right BI tools and do not require a data professional. However, in the case of Business Analytics, it is essential that the data presented is also interpreted efficiently requiring a data professional with adequate training and knowledge in data analysis. The professional dealing with Business Analytics need to have the skills in building machine learning capabilities for a business.
Reporting Vs Applying: Within Business Intelligence, data is presented in a simplified way whereby the data reports can be easily understood by the users presented using charts and dashboards. In the case of Business Analytics, the steps included are a bit more complex. Data application and statistical analysis need to take place for analysing the industrial trends and presenting data further by the analysts in a more understandable format. Hence, Business Intelligence is for reporting data while Business Analytics considers the application of data in new ways.
New Analytics vs Existing Analytics Strategy: Business Intelligence may form the basis for Business Analytics for an organisation. Accordingly, Business Intelligence might be used for collecting, storing and structuring data in a more easily understandable format and based on this step further predictive analysis could be conducted. Once BI tools are used for firmly interpreting data, it becomes for Business Analysts to use the data to predict the trends and patterns for the business in the future.
Also read: What is Data Warehouse – All You Need To Know
Business Intelligence vs Business Analytics Salary
Considering the differences occurring between experts and professionals in the industry dealing with Business Intelligence and Business Analytics, salary is an essential component to consider.
The average salary for a Business Intelligence developer in India stands at ₹5,00,000 per annum. This salary range has lower and upper limits which stand at ₹2,00,000 per annum to ₹1,287,000 per annum, respectively.
On the other hand, the average salary for a Business Analyst in the industry stands at ₹607,000 in India per annum. The salary ranges from a lower limit of ₹274,000 per annum to that an upper limit of ₹1,000,000 per annum.
Parting Thoughts!
It can be understood that both Business Intelligence and Business Analytics are essential parts of an organisation. Businesses need to make use of data to analyse the current operations and the future trends based on which the required processes are used. While the demand for Business Intelligence continues to grow in the market, businesses nevertheless require professionals who can deal with enduring predictive data analytics. Hence, the best way for businesses is to incorporate a strategy of Business Intelligence to run the operations first and then implement Business Analytics for future projections.
