Modern organizations typically use several IT tools to monitor their applications, networks, and other IT components in real time. Unfortunately, this leads to independent data islands, which creates a one-dimensional view of IT. In order to make strategic decisions, organizations need an IT operational analytics tool to analyze data from multiple sources, spot trends, and make better decisions.
While there are several analytics tools in the market, most tend to be either complicated or expensive to use. Self-service analytical tools, on the other hand, offer a rare combination of simplicity and affordability, making them popular among users. With the emergence of these comprehensive tools, every IT user can access data from various silos, get unified insight, collaborate with other teams, and gain the visibility necessary to make faster and smarter decisions.
In a recent survey conducted by ManageEngine, over 160 IT professionals, including CIOs, managers, and technicians from around the globe, highlighted their priorities and challenges when it comes to analyzing data.
Here are some of the findings, which suggest that self-service analytics is here to stay.
Analytics is not just for data experts anymore. Owing to their complexity, traditional business intelligence (BI) tools have always been handled by data experts, meaning decision-making was limited to a privileged few. But not anymore. Today, data is an integral part of any business, and users need to access it on a daily basis so they can make decisions on their own.
Empowered users ensure better IT governance. Gone are the days when a user had to wait for the IT department to furnish a report or a chart to get the information they need. IT and business users alike no longer want to depend on other sources to fulfill their reporting requirements and prefer to do it on their own. Self-service BI tools provide more flexibility in this regard and allow users to quickly create personalized reports, get real-time insight on the data they need, and take necessary action.
Customization replaces standardization. Different teams have different reporting needs, and self-service reports can be personalized based on individual requirements. By doing so, they also provide more insight into why certain strategies work and others don’t.
On-demand reporting is critical. Ad hoc reports are considered more popular because they provide answers to particular questions and analyze specific data. This means they need to be created instantly, without any delay. With self-service reporting, enterprises can finally enable users to easily access and share any necessary information.
Visual analytics are more popular. A visually driven, intuitive user interface adds more context to data and lets you instantly view, interpret, and analyze information. Users can now create reports and dashboards using visualization tools such as charts, widgets, KPI metrics, pivot tables, and more. Self-service tools allow them to visually slice and dice data, drill down into details, and change appearances with different chart types and predefined templates.
Organizations need to be proactive and agile to meet ever-changing business requirements. Investing in a self-service analytics tool is a step in the right direction. It will empower users, increase productivity, and positively impact business.
This article was originally posted “Why Self-Service Analytics Is Replacing Traditional BI” from Cloud Strategy Magazine.
