Augmented Analytics — Where Do You Fit in at the Intersection of Analytics and Business Intelligence?
Data visualization is a critical way for anyone to turn endless rows of data into easy-to-understand results through dynamic and understandable visuals.
And with augmented analytics (and embedded insights), anyone can become a citizen data scientist, regardless of their advanced analytics expertise.
A shift has been trending in Analytics and Business Intelligence where we’re seeing more and more analysts taking center stage to better enable the decision-maker by bridging the gap between data and the insights drawn from it. A 2022 BARC survey with over 200 participating companies across the globe, indicates “self-service to edit or author reports and dashboards” as the technical feature that has contributed most to the adoption and usage of BI/Analytics tools within organizations.
[Check out the latest eBook on Augmented Business Intelligence]
Analytics and BI need to have a 360-degree approach, which allows organizations to establish a range of BI self-service modes and enables all departments to move in concert. Business users can access relevant insights quickly without turning IT or analytics departments into bottlenecks, and analysts can take advantage of business acumen to direct their analysis focusing on advanced modeling and automation. By having all users take part in the analytical flow, companies can ensure relevant and accurate information reaches decision-makers timely and effectively. Win-win, right?
So where do you fit into the BI equation?
- Data storyteller — You enjoy extracting insights from big data and sharing them with thousands of viewers, who need to see information displayed in intuitive and interactive visualizations. Because users need to quickly gain a comprehensive understanding of opportunities and challenges hidden in the data sets, report builders (like yourself) are now becoming data-driven storytellers. Report builders can directly take advantage of automated analytics capabilities and can show, with the most compelling reporting, the impact of any KPIs organizations is tracking.
- Analytical explorer — During the analytics process, you take advantage of capabilities like automated predictions and automated explanation (with variable characteristics and importance analysis, anomaly analysis, model summary generation) in an easy-to-understand natural language format. You decide to work on improving your analytical models with model autotuning and like working within a low-code environment for model development and building composite AI solutions.
- Insights consumer — You like to approach reports through different customization levels and see yourself at the report designer of the group. You like when you can do #alloftheedits, whether they are simple edits, comprehensive edits, or large data set edits.
What about Embedded Insights?
Self-service accelerates real-time insights and embedding those insights into existing web applications keeps users engaged. It is no surprise that this topic’s popularity is on the rise in the ABI world and across industries. The last few years have brought disruption, causing not only a need to receive alerts and predict outcomes ahead of the curve, but also to make those available to thousands and sometimes millions of users. Resiliency to disruption is necessary to gain trust and keep information at the forefront.
Jennifer Chase, Chief Marketing Officer of SAS, explains “Ongoing war, changing consumer expectations, rapidly advancing technology changes to the workforce, and evolving legislation are all confronting business leaders today.” Embedding enables companies to confidently approach an external deployment model, for the kind of information that can be shared with the wider public. We cannot deny, it also has to do with the need to avoid “application fatigue” and simply a desire to have “information at our fingertips”, within our daily workflow.
Self-service can’t be addressed without addressing some of the cautions that come with it — the main one being governance. Namely, how do organizations make sure that users who are now enabled to create their own reports are accessing the same source of truth are not generating insight silos, that are using correct and high-quality data? SAS Viya delivers a comprehensive and centralized solution, helping track data lineage throughout the entire analytical lifecycle.
Always Share Insights
There is an urgency in sharing data, so much so that Gartner calls it imperative in their report Top Trends in Data and Analytics, 2022. With so many disruptions in most verticals produced by the global COVID pandemic and the need to switch gears due to supply chain interruptions, employment fluctuation, and healthcare considerations, the need for constant insights makes sense. Keeping all stakeholders informed and involved to make the most informed next action is paramount.
Get Answers as Fast as the World Produces Data
With Visual Analytics on SAS Viya, you’ll have data discovery and exploration with interactive reporting all from a single application. Plus, with integrations with Microsoft Outlook 365, it’s super easy to share high-impact analytical insights with the right stakeholders. Additionally, any visualization object can be included in the email with the click of a button, improving user experiences.
- Try SAS Viya for free
- Explore SAS Viya in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace
- Download this Augmented BI eBook
- Check out what SAS Viya users are saying on G2 Reviews
Author:
Diana Maris | Product Manager, SAS
Diana Maris is a Product Manager for SAS Intelligent Decisioning, working on helping organizations on their journey from question to analytics insights-driven decisions. Previously, she worked as a Business Intelligence consultant, helping organizations across multiple verticals manage data and disseminate information to improve their operations and competitive advantage through the use of BI applications. She likes collaborating with R&D, Design, and Product Management to deliver exciting product features. She enjoys talking about AI, languages, and travel, and outside of business hours, loves being in nature with her husband and their dog.
Originally posted on OpenDataScience.com
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