Analytics is not as cutting edge as it seems. You have been using it for at least as long as you have been using spreadsheets. The term analytics simply refers to using automated functions to perform simple calculations and basic filters. Companies have had those capabilities for years, so is analytics all hype?
In its early stages it arguably was. The first generation of “analytics” looked a lot like the technology it was claiming to revolutionize. Since then, however, the underlying technology has improved immensely, thanks almost entirely to artificial intelligence. The capabilities of today’s AI let companies do radically different and deeper things with data.
How AI and traditional analytics interoperate is complex, and different depending on the solution. In all cases, however, the goal is to use data about what has happened to produce forecasts of what will happen. It’s the difference between operating pro-actively instead of re-actively. In practice, AI-driven analytics transforms how companies operate and what they can do:
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Make Informed Decisions
Risk management is a fact of life for businesses. When you don’t know exactly what will happen, the only option to carefully manage all that could go wrong. Risk is a huge source of uncertainty and instability at companies, and it’s caused entirely by the unpredictability of the future. AI-driven analytics offers an antidote by turning empirical observations into informed assumptions. Professionals already do this, but AI can do it with impossible speed, scale, and precision. The end product is predictions of what could happen, and prescriptions of what should happen. They are not guaranteed or ironclad, but they are a lot more accurate and informed than any alternative. Businesses can use these insights to inform strategy, guide decision making, and carefully calculate every choice.
Eliminate Wasted Effort
AI-driven analytics is intended to maximize automation. Anything that can be set to run on auto pilot happens without requiring input from the user. That way, taking advantage of analytics does not have to distract users from more important work. Data analytics software does the heavy lifting so that users don’t have to.
AI data analytics also has applications outside of business strategy. For instance, companies are constantly searching for waste, redundancy, and inefficiency. AI can dive through the data to identify where it really exists, not where managers assume it exists. Therefore, any improvements companies make have a meaningful impact on productivity and cost savings.
Empower All Users
The previous point discussed how AI simplifies analytics. Another benefit is that a much larger category of users can begin taking advantage of analytics. Since AI eliminates the need for sophisticated data structuring and complex querying, users don’t need a technical background or user training.
It’s similar to how Google works – Users enter a simple query phrased in natural language. Then a series of sophisticated algorithms combs the expanse of the internet to deliver exactly what was requested. Google allows anyone to become an advanced archivist and capable data manager. AI-driven analytics does the same thing. Once analytics becomes “self-serve” thanks to data analytics software offered by providers like ThoughtSpot, companies can stop keeping data and insights siloed away. Instead, they can empower professionals at all levels to leverage data to the fullest.
Instead of coming from the top-down, the benefits of analytics spread from the center out! If you are still skeptical about AI-driven analytics, ask yourself this simple question: When was the last time you made an important business decision with complete confidence? The answer is probably rarely or never because business decisions are always a gamble. Or at least they used to be. AI-driven analytics closes the gap between the known and the unknown in ways that have never been possible before. If you want to train your focus forwards, nothing else provides the same perspective.
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