The top 5 trends for business intelligence and data management

BARC’s “Data, BI and Analytics Trend Monitor 2021” has investigated which developments are currently shaping business intelligence, analytics and data management. Nearly 2,300 BI users, vendors and consultants were interviewed as part of the world’s largest trend survey on business intelligence and data analytics. We take a look at the five most important trends identified by the “Data BI and Analytics Trend Monitor 2021”.

Data governance is an important factor for high data quality

Trend #1: Master data/data quality management

Correct decisions can only be made on the basis of reliable, consistent data – this simple insight has resulted in master data or data quality management reaching the top position in the BARC ranking for the fourth year in a row. Harmonized master data plays a crucial role in the uniform understanding of data and the smooth interaction of business units. They are the prerequisite for consistent reporting and data-driven processes. Offering innovative services and products also requires the generation and use of high-quality data. Critical success factors for sustained high data quality include defined roles and responsibilities, quality assurance processes, continuous monitoring, and an awareness among business department employees of the devastating effects of poor data quality.

Trend #2: Data discovery

Data discovery refers to a process that cleanses, prepares, visualizes and makes usable unstructured data from different sources and in different formats. It involves identifying patterns, trends and outliers in the data and deriving helpful insights from them. To increase the efficiency and quality of data discovery, there are two approaches: an optimized user experience and a higher degree of automation. Artificial intelligence and machine learning should guide business users through the data discovery process and automate tasks along the entire process – from preparation to visualization. In times of Big Data, centralized data preparation and analysis on a unified platform is becoming increasingly important to help companies stay competitive and drive innovation.

Trend #3: Data-driven corporate culture

A truly data-driven company bases as many (operational as well as strategic) decisions and processes as possible on quantitative and qualitative data. This ranges from simple metrics such as revenue and profit to results from advanced analytics and planning models. A data-driven corporate culture benefits not only management, which receives a reliable basis for its business decisions, but also all employees, who actively use data to improve their daily work. This makes it possible to fully exploit a company’s potential and secure competitive advantages. This also includes the ability to interpret data in order to draw the right conclusions from it.

Trend #4: Data Governance

As the strategic underpinning for operational data management, data governance represents an important control mechanism in terms of a company’s data strategy. Data strategy, in turn, is closely linked to business goals and enables companies to create value with their data. It controls the use of data across all business processes, thereby promoting efficiency and innovation. Data Governance comes into play when implementing the data strategy. It establishes binding guidelines and frameworks for how data should be managed, monitored and protected, taking into account people, processes and technologies. The basis for data governance is a clear management decision on how to work with data in the company and how it should be used.

Trend #5: Self-Service BI

Self-service functionalities enable users from the business departments to access, prepare and analyze data independently. This means that they are no longer dependent on IT support in their day-to-day business. The generated analyses and reports support the various departments in the company in their decision-making processes. Data is accessed via intuitive tools and applications that do not require in-depth technical knowledge. The advantages of self-service BI: evaluations are available more quickly, decisions can be better supported with data and facts. In addition, IT is relieved and can focus more on its core tasks and, for example, optimize the integration of data from different source systems.

Conclusion: Companies recognize the relevance of data for success

The results of the “Data, BI and Analytics Trend Monitor 2021” suggest that companies are aware of the relevance of high-quality data and its effective use. They are keen not only to collect data but also to actively use it to make better business decisions, and they know what framework conditions they need to create for this.

In the future, the use of cloud solutions or at least hybrid scenarios will play an increasingly important role. The “Cloud for data and analytics” trend made the biggest leap in this year’s BARC ranking compared with the previous year (from 18th to 14th place). Companies seem to be willing to increasingly use the speed and scalability advantages as well as the more flexible billing models of cloud applications for their BI and analytics landscape.