Higher Nationals
Internal verification of assessment decisions – BTEC (RQF)
INTERNAL VERIFICATION – ASSESSMENT DECISIONS
Programme title
Assessor
Unit(s)
BTEC Higher National Diploma in Computing
Ms. Sumudu Samarakoon
Internal Verifier
Unit 14: Business Intelligence
Assignment title
Student’s name
P.G Amindu Virashan Suranjaya
Pass
List which assessment criteria
the Assessor has awarded.
Merit
Distinction
INTERNAL VERIFIER CHECKLIST
Do the assessment criteria awarded match
those shown in the assignment brief?
Y/N
Is the Pass/Merit/Distinction grade awarded
justified by the assessor’s comments on the
student work?
Y/N
Has the work been assessed
accurately?
Y/N
Is the feedback to the student:
Give details:
• Constructive?
• Linked to relevant assessment criteria?
• Identifying opportunities for
Y/N
Y/N
Y/N
improved performance?
Y/N
• Agreeing actions?
Does the assessment decision need
amending?
Y/N
Assessor signature
Date
Internal Verifier signature
Date
Programme Leader signature (if required)
Date
Confirm action completed
Remedial action taken
Give details:
Assessor signature
Date
Internal Verifier
signature
Date
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
i
Programme Leader
signature (if required)
Amindu Virashan
Date
COL/A-066789
ii
Higher Nationals - Summative Assignment Feedback Form
Student Name/ID
P.G Amindu Virashan Suranjaya
Unit Title
Unit 14: Business Intelligence
Ms. Sumudu
Samarakoon
Assignment Number
Assessor
Submission Date
Date Received
1st submission
Re-submission Date
Date Received 2nd
submission
Assessor Feedback:
LO1 Discuss business processes and the mechanisms used to support business decision-making.
Pass, Merit & Distinction
Descripts
P1
P2
D1
LO2 Compare the tools and technologies associated with business intelligence functionality.
Pass, Merit & Distinction
Descripts
P2
M2
D2
LO3 Demonstrate the use of business intelligence tools and technologies
Pass, Merit & Distinction
Descripts
P3
P4
M3
D3
LO4 Discuss the impact of business intelligence tools and technologies for
effective decision-making purposes and the legal/regulatory context in which
they are used.
Pass, Merit & Distinction P5
P6
M4
D4
Descripts
Grade:
Assessor Signature:
Date:
Resubmission Feedback:
Grade:
Assessor Signature:
Date:
Internal Verifier’s Comments:
Signature & Date:
* Please note that grade decisions are provisional. They are only confirmed once internal and external moderation has taken place and
grades decisions have been agreed at the assessment board.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
iii
Assignment Feedback
Formative Feedback: Assessor to Student
Action Plan
Summative feedback
Feedback: Student to Assessor
Assessor
signature
Date
Student
signature
Date
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
iv
Pearson Higher Nationals in
Computing
Unit 14: Business Intelligence
Assignment 01
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
v
General Guidelines
1. A cover page or title page should be attached to your assignment. Use page 1 of this
assignment brief as your cover page and make sure all details are accurately filled.
2. The entire assignment brief should be attached as the first section of your assignment.
3. The assignment should be prepared using a word processing software.
4. The assignment should be word processing in an A4 sized paper.
5. Allow 1” margin on top, bottom and right sides of the paper and 1.25” on the left side (for
binding).
Word Processing Rules
1. The font size should be 12 point, and should be in the style of Time New Roman.
2. Set line spacing to 1.5. Justify all paragraphs.
3. Ensure that all headings are consistent in terms of size and font style.
4. Use footer function on the word processor to insert your name, unit, assignment no, and
page number on each page. This is useful if individual sheets get detached from the
submission.
5. Use the spell check and grammar check function of the word processing application to
review the use of language on your assignment.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
vi
Important Points:
1. Carefully check carefully the hand in date and the instructions given with the assignment.
Late submissions will not be accepted.
2. Ensure that sufficient time is spent to complete the assignment by the due date.
3. Do not wait till the last minute to get feedback on the assignment. Such excuses will not be
accepted for late submissions.
4. You must be responsible for efficient management of your time.
5. If you are unable to hand in your assignment on time and have valid reasons such as illness,
you may apply (in writing) for an extension.
6. Failure to achieve at least a PASS grade will result in a REFERRAL grade.
7. Non-submission of work without valid reasons will lead to an automatic REFERRAL. You will
then be asked to complete an alternative assignment.
8. If you use other people’s work or ideas in your assignment, it must be properly referenced,
using the HARVARD referencing system, in your text or any bibliography. Otherwise, you’ll
be found guilty of committing plagiarism.
9. If you are caught plagiarising, your grade will be reduced to a REFERRAL or at worst, you
could be excluded from the course.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
vii
Student Declaration
I hereby, declare that I know what plagiarism entails, namely to use another’s work and to present
it as my own without attributing the sources in the correct form. I further understand what it
means to copy another’s work.
1. I know that plagiarism is a punishable offence because it constitutes theft.
2. I understand the plagiarism and copying policy of Edexcel UK.
3. I know what the consequences will be if I plagiarise or copy another’s work in any of the
assignments for this program.
4. I declare therefore that all work presented by me for every aspect of my program, will be
my own, and where I have made use of another’s work, I will attribute the source in the
correct way.
5. I acknowledge that the attachment of this document signed or not, constitutes a binding
agreement between myself and Edexcel UK.
6. I understand that my assignment will not be considered as submitted if this document is not
attached to the assignment.
Student’s Signature:
Aminduvs@gmail.com
Amindu Virashan
Date:
29.03.2021
COL/A-066789
viii
Higher National Diploma in Computing
Assignment Brief
Student Name /ID Number
P.G Amindu Virashan Suranjaya / COL/A-066789
Unit Number and Title
Unit 14: Business Intelligence
Academic Year
2020/21
Unit Tutor
Ms. Sumudu Samarakoon
Assignment Title
Business Process Support Mechanisms
Issue Date
27/12/2020
Submission Date
IV Name & Date
Submission format
Submission to include:
Part 1: The submission is in the form of an individual written report. This should be written in a
concise, formal business style using single spacing and font size 12. You are required to make use
of headings, paragraphs and subsections as appropriate, and all work must be supported with
research and referenced using the Harvard referencing system. Please also provide a
bibliography using the Harvard referencing system. The recommended word limit is 2,000–2,500
words, although you will not be penalised for exceeding the total word limit.
Part 2: Comprehensive table
Part 3: The submission is in the form of a ten-minute Microsoft® PowerPoint® style presentation.
The presentation can include links to performance data with additional speaker notes and a
bibliography using the Harvard referencing system. The presentation slides for the findings should
be submitted with speaker notes as one copy. You are required to make effective use of headings,
bullet points and subsections, as appropriate. Your research should be referenced using the
Harvard referencing system. The recommended word limit is 500 words, including speaker notes,
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
ix
although you will not be penalised for exceeding the total word limit.
Unit Learning Outcomes:
LO1 Discuss business processes and the mechanisms used to support business decisionmaking.
LO2 Compare the tools and technologies associated with business intelligence functionality
LO3 Demonstrate the use of business intelligence tools and technologies
LO4 Discuss the impact of business intelligence tools and technologies for effective decisionmaking purposes and the legal/regulatory context in which they are used
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
x
Assignment Brief and Guidance:
Business processes are pivotal to the operation, functionality and accomplishment of
organisational goals. As a collection or set of tasks/activities, business processes ensure that
the end goal of delivering a service or product to a customer is accomplished successfully.
Scenario:
Data and information is core to any organization and business process. The necessity of
having meaningful information is the key driver for effective decision making and problemsolving. Business intelligence has evolved from technologies such as decision support systems
(DSS) to include tools and methods associated with data mining, data integration, data quality
and data warehousing in conjunction with other information management systems and
applications.
Suppose you are recently recruited as a Business Analyst to a leading Sri Lankan
Organization. As your initial project, you are required to prepare a management report to
the Board of Directors including the following details.
Task 1:
Background details of the organization.
Identify and explain different business processes and supporting processes models used at the
selected organization with examples .
Explain data that have been used by the different process models given above.
Differentiation between data classification based on the selected organization in terms of
structured, semi structured and unstructured.
What are the application software used in the given process models.
Evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of using application software as a mechanism for
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
xi
business processing.
Discuss on business intelligence functionalities and the tools and techniques associated with
them using specific examples chosen from the selected organization processing.
Part 2
Compare the tools and technologies associated with the business intelligence functionalities
and support available for business decision making at various levels within the organization
Compare the types of support available for Business Decision making at different levels
of the organizational structure
What are the business intelligence tools commonly used in selected organization?
Justify with specific examples of the key features of business intelligence functionality
Part 3
Design a simple business intelligence tool/application with user friendly and functional
interfaces that can perform a specific task to support problem solving or decision making at
an advanced level the selected organization.
Provide a critical review of the design in terms of how it meets a specific user or business
requirement and identify what customization has been integrated into the design.
Task 4
Discuss the importance and the impact of business intelligence tools and technologies that
can be used by the organization for effective decision making
Describe the legal/ regulatory issues involved in the secure exploitation of business
intelligence tools in an organization. What are the legal issues you can identify in the system
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
xii
designed by you.
Identify new Business Intelligence trends and technologies that can be further enhance the
operational activities in the selected organizational context
Evaluate how organizations could use business intelligence to extend their target audience
and make them more competitive within the market, taking security legislation into
consideration
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
xiii
Grading Rubric
Grading Criteria
Achieved
Feedback
LO1 Discuss business processes and the mechanisms
used to support business decision-making.
P1 Examine, using examples, the terms ‘Business
Process’ and ‘Supporting Processes’.
M1 Differentiate between unstructured and semistructured data within an organisation.
D1 Evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of using
application software as a mechanism for business
processing.
LO2 Compare the tools and technologies associated
with business intelligence functionality
P2 Compare the types of support available for business
decision-making
at
varying
levels
within
an
organization.
M2 Justify, with specific examples, the key features of
business intelligence functionality.
D2 Compare and contrast a range of information
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
xiv
systems and technologies that can be used to support
organisations at operational, tactical and strategic levels.
LO3 Demonstrate the use of business intelligence
tools and technologies
P3 Determine, with examples, what business
intelligence is and the tools and techniques associated
with it.
P4 Design a business intelligence tool, application or
interface that can perform a specific task to support
problem-solving or decision-making at an advanced
level.
M3 Customize the design to ensure that it is user
friendly and has a functional interface.
D3 Provide a critical review of the design in terms of
how it meets a specific user or business requirement and
identify what customisation has been integrated into the
design.
LO4 Discuss the impact of business intelligence tools
and
technologies
for
effective
decision-making
purposes and the legal/regulatory context in which
they are used
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
xv
P5 Discuss how business intelligence tools can
contribute to effective decision-making.
P6 Explore the legal issues involved in the secure
exploitation of business intelligence tools.
M4 Conduct research to identify specific examples of
organisations that have used business intelligence tools
to enhance or improve operations
D4 Evaluate how organisations could use business
intelligence to extend their target audience and make
them more competitive within the market, taking
security legislation into consideration.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
xvi
UNIT:14 - BUSINESS
INTELLIGENCE
ASSIGNMENT
AMINDU VIRASHAN
COL/A-066789
HND-COM-96
ESOFT METRO CAMPUS
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
i
Acknowledgment
I would like to express my special gratitude towards the lecturer Miss. Ms. Sumudu
Samarakoon for their guidance during the period of the process of the assignment and for
the valuable suggestions from time to time to make it a successful assignment.
Furthermore, I am grateful to my family, who have supported me throughout the entire
process and being beside me as courage in achieving the goals. Moreover, all my
colleagues of the 96th Batch of the HND program in computing to be remembered as we
all were supportive of each other.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
ii
Table of Contents
Acknowledgment ....................................................................................................................... i
Task 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Background Details of the Organization ............................................................................... 1
Explanation of Different Business Processes and Supporting Processes Models Used
at the Organization with Examples ........................................................................................ 2
Core Processes ................................................................................................................. 2
Supporting Process ........................................................................................................... 4
Management Processes .................................................................................................... 4
The Data that Have Been Used by the Different Process Models Given Above ............. 5
Differentiation Between Data Classification Based on the Organization ........................... 6
Structured Data ................................................................................................................ 6
Unstructured Data ............................................................................................................ 7
Semi-Structured Data ....................................................................................................... 8
The Application Software Used in the Given Process Models ...................................... 10
Evaluation of the Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Application Software as a
Mechanism for Business Processing ..................................................................................... 12
Business Intelligence Functionalities and the Tools and Techniques Associated with
Them Using Specific Examples Chosen from the Organization Processing .................... 15
1. Predictive Modelling ........................................................................................... 15
2. OLAP (Online analytical processing) ................................................................. 15
3. Data Mining......................................................................................................... 16
4. Data Visualization ............................................................................................... 16
5. Business Analytics .............................................................................................. 16
Part 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 17
The Types of Support Available for Business Decision Making at Different Levels of
the Organizational Structure .......................................................................................... 17
1. Strategic Intelligence ........................................................................................... 17
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
iii
2. Tactical Intelligence ............................................................................................ 18
3. Operational Intelligence ...................................................................................... 18
Justifying with Specific Examples of the Key Features of Business Intelligence
Functionality........................................................................................................................... 19
1. Data Warehousing ............................................................................................... 19
2. Ranking Reports .................................................................................................. 19
3. What-If Analysis ................................................................................................. 20
4. Executive Dashboards ......................................................................................... 20
7. Operational Reports............................................................................................. 21
8. Pivot Tables ......................................................................................................... 21
9. User-Specific Security......................................................................................... 21
10.
Open Integration .............................................................................................. 21
Comparing and Contrasting the Range of Information Systems and Technologies
that Can be Used to Support Organisations at Operational, Tactical, and Strategic
Levels ....................................................................................................................................... 22
1. QlikView ............................................................................................................. 22
2. Klipfolio .............................................................................................................. 24
3. Tableau ................................................................................................................ 26
4. Geckoboard ......................................................................................................... 28
5. Power BI.............................................................................................................. 29
Part 3 ....................................................................................................................................... 31
Designing of Functional Interfaces on the Business Intelligence Application of
Healthguard for the task of Generating Key Influencers Report .................................. 31
A Critical Review of the Design in Terms of Specific User Requirements and
Identifying Customizations has been Integrated into the Design ...................................... 32
Task 4 ...................................................................................................................................... 33
The Importance and the Impact of Business Intelligence Tools and Technologies that
can be used by the Organization for Effective Decision Making ...................................... 33
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
iv
The Legal/ Regulatory Issues Involved in the Secure Exploitation of Business
Intelligence Tools in an Organization, and the Identified Legal Issues in the
Designed System. .................................................................................................................... 35
The Conducted Research to Identify Specific Examples of Organizations that Have
Used Business Intelligence Tools to Enhance or Improve Operations.............................. 38
01.
Coca-Cola Bottling Company (CCBC) ........................................................... 38
02.
HelloFresh Centralized Digital Marketing ...................................................... 39
03.
Des Moines Public Schools ............................................................................. 39
04.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurant .................................................................. 39
New Business Intelligence Trends and Technologies that can be Further Enhance the
Operational Activities in the Selected Organizational Context ......................................... 40
Evaluation of How Organizations could use Business Intelligence to Extend Their
Target Audience and Make Them More Competitive within the Market, Taking
Security Legislation into Consideration .............................................................................. 45
Optimization of the Existing Business Model to Gain Competitive Advantage ....... 45
Customized Strategizing ............................................................................................ 47
Marketing Optimization ............................................................................................. 47
Inventory Analysis ..................................................................................................... 47
Analysis of Customer Behavior ................................................................................. 48
References ............................................................................................................................... 49
Gantt Chart ............................................................................................................................ 51
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
v
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Healthguard Pharmacy Limited ............................................................................ 1
Figure 2: Staff of Healthguard Pharmacy Limited ............................................................... 2
Figure 3:Various processers in the organization .................................................................. 3
Figure 4: Example of unstructured data within the Healthguard organization .................... 8
Figure 5: EasyWay inventory management system ........................................................... 11
Figure 6: SAP crystal report software ................................................................................ 11
Figure 7: Managerial goals and horizon across the strategic, operational, and tactical
enterprise tiers .................................................................................................................... 17
Figure 8: Data Warehousing .............................................................................................. 19
Figure 9: Executive Dashboard .......................................................................................... 20
Figure 10: QlikView interface ........................................................................................... 22
Figure 11: Klipfolio interface ............................................................................................ 24
Figure 12: Tableau interface .............................................................................................. 26
Figure 13: Geckoboard interface ........................................................................................ 28
Figure 14: MS Power BI interface ..................................................................................... 29
Figure 15: Key Influencers Report..................................................................................... 32
Figure 16: AI ...................................................................................................................... 40
Figure 17: Assignment Timeline........................................................................................ 51
Table of Tables
Table 1: The data use by Health Guard company ...................................................................... 5
Table 2: Differentiation between data classification.................................................................. 9
Table 3: Advantages and Disadvantages of QlikView ............................................................ 23
Table 4: Advantages and Disadvantages of Klipfolio ............................................................. 25
Table 5: Advantages and Disadvantages of Tableau ............................................................... 27
Table 6: Advantages and Disadvantages of Geckoboard......................................................... 29
Table 7: Advantages and Disadvantages of Power BI ............................................................. 30
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
vi
Task 1
Background Details of the Organization
Figure 1: Healthguard Pharmacy Limited
The first branded retail chain in Sri Lanka is Healthgarde Pharmacy Limited, a subsidiary
of Sunshine Healthcare. In order to create a diversified offering and retail experience for
the consumer, the company entered into the market. The organization has introduced an
innovating retail concept led by a team of professionals, centered on outstanding
shopping experience through service, technology, product offering, pricing, and a range
of additional value. Through this innovative approach, Healthgarde has become a market
leader with a loyal consumer base in drug store retailing.
The core principle of the Healthguard was to be the standard for retail services. The
Healthguards’ business model focuses on this belief and strives in our offers, formats, and
solutions to be much more than just a normal pharmacy. Our view of the retail sector is
not limited to pharmaceuticals. In our opinion, medical retailing also deals with Living
Better and Looking Better (Beauty).
Company Vision:
To be the Admired Healthcare Retailer in Sri Lanka.
Company Mission:
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
1
To offer exceptional Pharma, Wellness & Beauty solutions to the Customer and the
Community.
Figure 2: Staff of Healthguard Pharmacy Limited
Explanation of Different Business Processes and Supporting Processes Models Used
at the Organization with Examples
Core Processes
Core processes are end-to-end, cross-functional processes that provide external
consumers or intermediaries with value directly. Core processes are also referred to as
"primary" processes because they represent the vital tasks that an organization conducts
in order to accomplish its priorities and strategies, meet its purpose and achieve its vision.
The value chain, which is the collection of high-level, integrated core processes that each
bring value to the good or service, is made up of these processes. The supply chain
generates the good or service and sells it, which essentially gives consumers value.
Inside organizational functions, central processes may occur, but typically shift across
functions and divisions, or also across and between companies. The key processes are
those involved in the creation and development of the product or service, the promotion
and transfer to the consumer or purchaser of the service, as well as input from the
customer or after-sales assistance for the product or service. Core processes are the supply
chain's generators that need to operate together efficiently to attain true consumer value.
The number of core processes, regardless of scale, is between four and eight in an
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
2
organization. The ability of an organization to define and maintain its key processes
simply is a competitive capacity for that organization. (viewpoint.com, 2020)
Core processes have strategic value, have a direct effect on an enterprise, and are essential
to its progress. If key systems are carried out properly, excellent service delivery can be
provided, but if they are inadequate, unreliable, or not controlled, they could pose a major
strategic vulnerability. Core processes are essentially efficient, facilitating service
delivery by actually delivering the organization's outputs and value in the form of goods,
resources, assistance, or information to external main clients. Interior facilities are not
managed or supported by key systems.
Core process includes:
• Design and Development
• Manufacturing
• Marketing and Sales
• Delivery and After-sales
• Direct Procurement
Figure 3:Various processers in the organization
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
3
Supporting Process
Supporting processes allow processes built to support core processes to provide value by
supplying the services and facilities needed by primary processes. The key distinction
between support and core processes is that, while core processes do, support processes
bring value to internal customers and do not provide value directly to external customers.
The distribution of information technology, finance, and human resource resources as
well as the provision of goods and services to internal clients are examples of support
systems. Each of these support processes can require a lifecycle of resource delivery and
are often aligned with organizational functional areas.
Supporting processes will also have cross-functional boundaries. The internal capability
delivery mechanism, for instance, does not explicitly provide value to external clients but
facilitates the willingness of a company to provide mandated goods or services. The fact
that supporting processes do not provide consumers with value explicitly does not mean
that they are unimportant to an organization. Help systems can be crucial and strategic for
organizations since they directly impact an organization's ability to successfully
implement key processes.
Support process includes:
•
Human Resource Management
•
Financial Management processes
•
Building and property management, cleaning and maintenance, Facility
management
•
IT processes
•
Procurement and sourcing processes
•
Risk Management processes
•
Security Management processes
•
Quality Management processes
Management Processes
Management processes are structured to schedule, measure, monitor, and oversee
company operations. They ensure that technical, economical, legislative, and legal criteria
are fulfilled through a key or support mechanism. Management practices do not provide
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
4
benefits specifically to consumers, they are important to ensure that the enterprise runs
safely and successfully.
The management process includes:
• Strategic and planning
• Budgeting
• Compliance and risk management
• Investors, suppliers, and partners management
The Data that Have Been Used by the Different Process Models Given Above
Table 1: The data use by Health Guard company
Main
Sub Process
Process
Data
Management
Human Resource
Employee
Employee_Id, Employee_NIC, Employee_Name,
Registration
Employee_Address, Employee_DOB,
Employee_Contact_Number, Date_Of_Join,
Date_Of_Resigned, Employee_Designation
Payroll
Payroll_Id, Employee_ID, Basic_Salary, BR_Allowance,
Creation
Overtime_Allowance, Gross_Salary, Deductions,
Net_Salary
Purchasing Management
Purchase
PO_No, Supplier_Id, Order_Date, Delivery_Date,
Order Note
Payment_Mode, Item_Code, Item_Name, Qty, Cost,
Creation
Retail, Amount
Good
GRN_No,
Received
Item_Code, Item_Name, Qty, Cost, Retail, Discount,
Note Creation
Amount
Purchase
PRN_No,
Return
PO_No,
Supplier_Id,
Supplier_Id,
Return_Date,
Payment_Mode,
Return_Mode,
Note Item_Code, Item_Name, Qty, Cost, Retail, Amount
Creation
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
5
Supply Chain
Management
Transfer
Goods
of TOG_No, Date, Tranfer_Location, Deliver_Location,
Note Item_Code, Item_Name, Qty, Cost, Retail, Discount,
Financial
Management
Creation
Amount
Payment
Payment_Id, Payment_Date, Supplier_Id, Invoice_Id,
Details
Invoice_Date, Balance, Pay_Amount, Payment_Mode,
Cheque_No, Bank. Cheque_Date
Item
Item_Code,
Item_Name,
Supplier_Id,
Registration
Pack_Size, Cost_Price, Retail_Price, Margin
Category
Category_Id, Category_Name, Discount
Category_Id,
Registration
Inventory Management
Branch
Location_Id, Location_Name, Contact_No,
Registration
Email, Fax
Customer
Customer_Id, Customer_Name, Contact_No, Address,
Registration
Email, Credit_Limit, Cretit_Period, Discount
Sales
Address,
Person Sales_Person_Id, Name, Contact_No, Address, Email,
Registration
Fax, Target_Amount
Supplier
Supplier_Id,
Registration
Email, Account_No, Credit_Period
Supplier_Name,
Contact_No,
Address,
Differentiation Between Data Classification Based on the Organization
Structured Data
Structured data is the data that adheres to a pre-defined data model and is thus simple to
analyze. Structured data conforms to a tabular structure that is connected to the various
rows and columns. Excel files or SQL databases are typical examples of structured data.
The nature of a data model relies on organized data: a model of how data can be stored,
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
6
interpreted, and obtained. Each field is distinct due to a data model and can be accessed
independently or jointly, combined with data from other fields. Structured data is
therefore extremely strong. Data from multiple points in the database can be easily
aggregated. Since the earliest implementations of database management systems (DBMS)
were able to store, process, and view structured data, structured data is considered to be
the most 'traditional' type of data storage.
Table 2: Example of structured data within the Healthguard organization
Description
Structured Data
Employee
Employee_Id, Employee_NIC, Employee_Name, Employee_Address,
Details
Employee_DOB,
Employee_Contact_Number,
Date_Of_Join,
Date_Of_Resigned, Employee_Designation
Item Details
Item_Code,
Item_Name,
Supplier_Id,
Category_Id,
Pack_Size,
Cost_Price, Retail_Price, Margin
Branch
Location_Id, Location_Name, Contact_No, Address, Email, Fax
Details
Sales Person Sales_Person_Id,
Name,
Contact_No,
Details
Target_Amount
Customer
Customer_Id,
Details
Credit_Limit, Cretit_Period, Discount
Supplier
Supplier_Id,
Details
Account_No, Credit_Period
Customer_Name,
Supplier_Name,
Address,
Contact_No,
Contact_No,
Email,
Fax,
Address,
Email,
Address,
Email,
Unstructured Data
Data that either does not have a predefined data model or is not ordered in a predefined
way is unstructured data. Usually, unstructured content is text-heavy, but can also include
details such as times, numbers, and statistics. In contrast to data contained in organized
databases, this results in inconsistencies and ambiguities that make it impossible to
interpret the usage of standard systems. Audio, video files, or No-SQL databases are
typical examples of unstructured data. In recent years, the ability to store and process
unstructured data has expanded tremendously, with many innovations and instruments
coming to the market that can store specialized forms of unstructured data. For instance,
MongoDB is optimized to store documents. As an alternative example, Apache Graph is
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
7
designed for storing relationships between nodes. In the sense of big data, the opportunity
to analyze unstructured data is highly important, as a substantial portion of the data in
enterprises is unstructured. Dream of images, videos, or documents in PDF format. One
of the key factors behind Big Data's exponential development is the potential to derive
meaning from unstructured information.
Figure 4: Example of unstructured data within the Healthguard organization
Semi-Structured Data
Semi-structured data is a type of structured data that does not adhere to the formal
framework of data structures associated with relational databases or other types of data
tables, but nevertheless includes tags or other markers that distinguish semantic elements
and implement register hierarchies and data fields. It is, thus, also known as the structure
of self-description. JSON and XML types of semi-structured data are representations of
semi-structured data. It is because semi-organized data is significantly simpler to interpret
than unstructured data that this third type arises (between structured and unstructured
data). The ability to 'interpret' and process either JSON or XML is present in many Big
Data solutions and software. This eliminates, relative to unstructured data, the difficulty
of processing structured data. (bigdataframework.org, 2019)
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
8
Table 3: Differentiation between data classification
Basis
Semi-Structured
Structured Data
Unstructured Data
Data
Structured Data as On the other hand, in In last the data is fully
the name suggest this the case of Semi- non-organized in the case
type of data is well Structured Data, the of Unstructured Data and
organized and hence data is organized up hence level of organizing
level of organizing is to some extent only is the lowest in the case
Level of
highest in this type of and the rest is non- of Unstructured Data.
organizing
data.
organized hence the
level of organizing is
less
than
that
of
Structured Data and
higher than that of
Unstructured Data.
Structured Data is get While in
by
case of On other hand in case of
Means of
organized
the Semi-Structured Data Unstructured
Data
means of a Relational is partially organized based
Organization Database.
by
the
means
of characters
XML/RDF.
Data
on
is
simple
and
binary
data.
In Structure Data we On other hand in the While in the case of
can
perform case
structured
Semi- Unstructured Data only
query Structured Data only textual
which
Performance
of
allows queries
are
over possible so performance
complex joining and anonymous nodes are is
thus performance is possible
queries
so
lower
its Structured
than
and
both
Semi-
highest as compared performance is lower Structured Data.
to
that
Structured
of
Semi- than Structured Data
and but more than that of
Unstructured Data.
Versioning
Unstructured Data
As mentioned in the On other hand in case Versioning in the case of
definition Structured of
Amindu Virashan
Semi-Structured Unstructured
COL/A-066789
Data
is
9
Data
supports
in Data versioning is possible
Relational databases done
only
only
as
on
where whole data as no support
so versioning is done tuples or graph is of database at all.
over
tuples,
rows, possible as the partial
and tables as well.
database is supported
in
case
of
Semi-
Structured Data.
As Structured Data is While in this case, As
based
Flexible and
Scalable
on
there
is
no
the Semi-Structured Data dependency
on
any
relational database so is more flexible than database so Unstructured
it becomes schema Structured Data but Data is more flexible and
dependent and less less
flexible
and scalable as compared to
flexible as well as scalable as compared Structured
less scalable.
to Unstructured Data.
In Structured Data In
management
Transaction
Management
Semi-Structured While in Unstructured
no
concurrency of data not by default but is management
adapted
mostly preferred in DBMS
the
process
Semi-
Structured Data.
and Data transaction is Data
is present and hence get
and
but
transaction
and
no
from concurrency are present.
data
multitasking concurrency is not
present.
(Parahar, 2020)
The Application Software Used in the Given Process Models
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
10
Figure 5: EasyWay inventory management system
Figure 6: SAP crystal report software
Healthguard Pharmacy Limited uses the "EasyWay'' system for inventory management
provided by Sarasa Soft Solutions Pvt Ltd. It is an online framework that is web-based.
Both branches can be connected to the head office with this software. There are great
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
11
security solutions for this EasyWay software to protect database records. Furthermore,
all users using the software have different facilities for their duties. Moreover, the
company uses "MS Office package" for unstructured and semi-structured data from
processes. Department of Human Resources to create letters using a Word processing
program. To present documentation and preparation, they use Spreadsheet development
software to execute attendance measurements and PowerPoint application software. In
addition, the Human Resource Department uses the boarding platform within the created
Attendance framework to collect and manage data from specific biometric fingerprint
scanners. In looking at management methods, it will process time and out time. You will
navigate all the holidays as well.
The finance department uses spreadsheets all the time to read papers using Word, Excel,
and Adobe PDF application applications. Many external suppliers submit documents in
File format and use the Foxit PDF Editor to fill out and change PDF documents.
technology department for access attendance system, call response system, and CCTV
using web-based or remote managing solutions. For accessing all the above systems,
Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Mobile handling systems are included.
All a center with an "Omnichannel software" to quickly reach their clients. Furthermore,
all the calls in one Omnichannelya web application framework can be managed. That's
convenient for both employers. To minimize waiting time and workload, this device has
built-in functionality.
Evaluation of the Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Application Software as a
Mechanism for Business Processing
There are benefits as well as drawbacks of using application software as a mechanism
for business processing. Today, businesses in nearly every industry use innovative
business technologies to drive their development, but many still fail to keep up with their
growth and control costs efficiently due to a hodge-podge of disconnected functional
structures that create process bottlenecks and problems with employee’s productivity.
Integrated business software suites are changing the way businesses work and helping
them to overcome the rising pains that have traditionally prevented them from bringing
their business to the next stage of sustainable growth. (Schwarz , 2016)
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
12
Among many, one of the benefits of Software Application is Process Efficiency Across
the Organization. In everyday activities, there are many major procedures that can be
experienced, such as order processing, delivery, invoicing, cash processing, cost permits,
and financial restructuring, to name a few. Automating these procedures helps to
eliminate new workers who would be expected to perform these processes and redeploy
workers to higher-value tasks to support the company's innovation.
Another benefit is Dramatically Improved Visibility. In making timely, informed
decisions, real-time visibility is critical. Employees are more educated and can make
more detailed, quicker choices if information can be obtained quickly from virtually
anywhere, without spending time on data retrieval and connecting data from multiple
sources together.
Apart from that, Significant IT Time and Cost Savings are other benefits. With IT no
longer needing to purchase, implement, and manage multiple systems, as well as the
varying integrations between them, it is possible to recognize a substantial decrease in
running costs while investing IT time optimizing company processes.
Accelerated Growth also can be identified as another benefit. Due to centralized order
and accounting management systems and records, an extension to different locations and
additional distribution platforms can be done even more easily with an automated
software framework. Because of the increased exposure they gain, companies will now
upsell and cross-sell more easily to their current client base.
Finally, User-Driven Innovation and Less Responsibility is also could be considered as a
benefit. Due to the fast execution of process improvements, everyday enterprise users
may use their technical knowledge to customize systems and implementations in a way
that increases performance. In the meantime, IT is open to working on business
strategies that will bring value to the bottom line by developing new ideas with added
value.
Businesses that use any of these cloud-enabled business analytics platforms will keep
fewer workers on hand and stop buying new servers and hardware. The customer also
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
13
transfers the obligation to the product vendor to provide data protection controls, saving
money and stress; most web-based solutions in the digital era are as safe as on-site
ones. (Schwarz , 2016)
Although there are benefits as listed above, there are some draw-backs of Software
Applications. One of the main drawbacks is the Potential Hackers. If documents are kept
on paper and secured in filing cabinets, in order to steal information, someone will need
to personally gain access to the data. When everything is stored online, hackers don't
need to think about this. Company owners are always too busy upgrading security and
virus security, making it easy to install spyware, steal records, or hijack business details
for hackers. (Adair, 2020)
Another drawback is Complexity. Difficulties in the application of data may be another
drawback of BI. It can be so dynamic that company strategies can be made rigid to work
with. Because of this assumption, many industry analysts have projected that any
business will inevitably be throttled by these intricacies.
Limited Use is also another drawback. Business intelligence was first developed, like all
improved technology, taking into account the purchasing competence of affluent
businesses. Even now, most enterprises can not afford the BI system. While traders have
begun to adapt their offerings to medium and small-sized businesses in recent years, the
truth is that many of these corporations do not consider them to be very relevant.
The Lack of Customization has been also identified as another drawback. The failure to
tailor it to the needs of a single organization is another possible concern with business
intelligence. Although all of these services are very versatile, designing an in-house
solution that is proprietary certainly has an advantage. Users design it from the ground
up, from scratch, it is possible to make sure that it is fully suited to the company's needs.
By creating their systems in-house, companies may even get some bragging privileges.
Lastly, the Lack of Integrations is another drawback which can be identified. Those who
are skeptical of using some BI tools often claim that incorporating other forms of
applications into an architecture that uses vendor tools could become a little tougher.
There is a lot of conversation now around the "API ecosystem" or the use of application
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
14
program frameworks to patch parts of a Frankenstein design together without requiring
data silos or bottlenecks to achieve disparate functionality. Although integration on an
in-house framework can be smoother, it again relies on the individual vendor providers
and the arrangements that are in effect. (Adair, 2020)
Business Intelligence Functionalities and the Tools and Techniques Associated with
Them Using Specific Examples Chosen from the Organization Processing
1. Predictive Modelling
The method of using proven outcomes to develop, process, and validate a framework that
can be used to predict future results is predictive modeling. It is a technique used in
predictive analytics, a methodology for data processing that seeks to address the question
"what might possibly occur in the future?" Companies may use predictive analytics by
evaluating past events to improve the possibility of predicting events, client actions, as
well as financial, economic, and business risks. A volume of data that is readily
accessible to companies has been generated by the massive migration of digital goods.
Big data is used by organizations to enhance the dynamics of the client-to-business
relationship. Sources such as social media, internet search history, mobile phone records,
and cloud computing services retrieve this massive array of real-time data.
The data, though, is typically unstructured and too difficult to process in a short period of
time for humans. Businesses use predictive modeling techniques, often through computer
software programs, due to the sheer volume of data. In order to determine and define
trends within the data, the programs analyze large volumes of historical data.
(Frankenfield, 2019)
2. OLAP (Online analytical processing)
OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) is a digital application classification that helps
analysts, executives, and managers to gain insight into information by quick, reliable,
interactive access to a wide spectrum of potential data views that have been converted
from raw information to represent the actual dimensionality of the business as perceived
by customers. The multidimensional processing of market knowledge is introduced by
OLAP and the capacity for detailed estimations, pattern analysis, and advanced data
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
15
modeling is enabled. Company Performance Monitoring, Planning, Estimating, Financial
Documenting, Research, Information Discovery, and Data Warehouse Reporting are
increasingly enhancing the vital framework for Intelligent Solutions. OLAP helps endcustomers to do multi-dimensional ad-hoc reviews of documents, offering the context and
understanding they need for improved decision making. (javatpoint.com, 2020)
3. Data Mining
Data mining refers to the process of analyzing and summarizing information from various
sources into useful information that can be used to help raise sales and cut costs. Its key
aim is to identify similarities or trends in vast datasets between hundreds of fields. Data
mining software helps users to display data from many different viewpoints, reading data,
categorize it, and summarize the relationships found. Data mining's primary goal is
estimation and exploration. The approach looks for stable patterns and hierarchical
interactions between variables, then validates the results by extending the patterns to new
data subsets.
4. Data Visualization
More data on sales income, marketing efficiency, customer experiences, inventory levels,
output metrics, staffing levels, costs, and other KPIs are produced every day by the
company. But with so much evidence to sift through, the story it reveals can be hard for
people to see. Data visualization lets the turn of all the granular data into market
knowledge that is clearly interpreted, visually convincing, and valuable. Today's data
visualization applications do not only help you see your KPIs more plainly, but also unify
data and apply AI-driven analytics to expose connections between your KPIs, the
business, and the environment through tapping into external data sources.
5. Business Analytics
In today's industry, business analytics is a powerful tool. Organizations collect large
volumes of data across sectors, which in turn has intensified the demand for experts who
know how to process and evaluate the knowledge. In order to make better business
decisions, business analytics is the practice of using quantitative approaches to extract
value from results.
There are three main business analysis methods:
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
16
• Descriptive: The interpretation of historical information to recognize patterns and
developments
• Predictive: The application of statistics to estimate future results
• Prescriptive: Applying tests and other strategies to decide which outcome in a
given situation would deliver the best result
Part 2
The Types of Support Available for Business Decision Making at Different Levels of
the Organizational Structure
Planning, control, and decision-making within an organization are carried out at multiple
stages within the organization's structure. Strategic, tactical and operational are the 3
phases at which intelligence should be used, and there is a strong connection between the
levels of significance of persons or organizations within an organization and the level of
information being shared.
Figure 7: Managerial goals and horizon across the strategic, operational, and tactical
enterprise tiers
1. Strategic Intelligence
In the very highest level of management within an organization, strategic intelligence is
used. There are chief executives or directors who must make long-term decisions.
Strategic intelligence is broad-based and a combination of data obtained by both internal
and external sources can be used. There will be little or no detail in development planning
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
17
and more extensive strategic plans will be made somewhat further down the
administrative ladder. It would be better to flesh out a strong strategic strategy lower
down than a bad or unclear strategic plan. Similarly, it would be quicker to execute better
designed and more detailed plans than badly constructed plans.
2. Tactical Intelligence
The next step down is the tactical level, and under the boundaries provided by the
strategic plan, tactical planning and decision-making take place. With a few external
channels being used, tactical intelligence would be largely internal. Internal information
is likely to be related to function: for instance, how much 'downtime' a production line
must reserve for scheduled maintenance. When overseeing or preparing programs, tactical
intelligence is used for middle management (employees). Tactical plans have a medium
level of specificity and can be very detailed; they discuss topics such as who is doing
what and what specific budgets and schedules are doing. These plans are medium in scale
and will cover information at the stage of operation. In addition, they will have clear
targets that will be directed towards execution by staff at the organizational stage.
3. Operational Intelligence
Operational and operational planning on the basis of tactical plans is the lowest level.
Operational plans are implemented by the lowest level of management or employees in an
organization. In smaller organizations where there is no supervisory layer, these could be
division leaders or foremen in a big company or staff such as shop assistants, waiting for
staff, and kitchen staff, etc. Therefore, the time scale is very small, anything but suddenly,
every day, or a week or month at most. Operational job outcomes will typically be moved
upwards to allow the operational planners to determine their preparations. (Anon., 2020)
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
18
Justifying with Specific Examples of the Key Features of Business Intelligence
Functionality
1. Data Warehousing
Figure 8: Data Warehousing
A data warehouse or enterprise data warehouse is a system that can be used for
monitoring applications or with data analytics. Assuming that people work for an
organization that keeps track of transactional data using various channels. If the order
details for the last 5 years to be viewed. It will be a difficult task. One may combine data
from one or more disparate sources using a data center, which provides a single data
repository. This keeps a copy of the source transaction framework records, so it is only
requiring a single query engine to access the details that needed. If one requires a large
picture of your organization/enterprise, to preserve historical records, to increase the
accuracy of the data (more reliable, less poor data, etc.), or to integrate all data from
multiple sources into a single data model, a data warehouse is useful. A data warehouse's
primary purpose is to combine data from multiple data sources and data source types. The
key drawback of having a data warehouse is that it is then possible to use all the related
data in disparate systems or a single program. That means it is possible to link the dots
between the multiple business systems better.
2. Ranking Reports
Ranking reports help to quickly see the business's top and worst-performing aspects, from
goods to marketing strategies to salespeople. To reflect on the results, could display
rankings across various dimensions and determine different parameters.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
19
3. What-If Analysis
If you're concerned about how the organization could be impacted by a future move, it
can be run a "what-if" scenario to predict the likely impacts using historical results. Whatif planning tools provide an analytical perspective of the costs and benefits involved with
each possible action and allow to prepare for the future better.
4. Executive Dashboards
Figure 9: Executive Dashboard
A dashboard is an informative, easily readable, normally one-page, real-time user
interface that uses graphs and charts to display a visual representation of data. We mean
that most dashboards can be pulled up on a web page attached to a network in real-time
so that the information displayed is continuously updated and refreshed. In both current
and historical results, dashboards illustrate summaries, primary patterns, comparisons,
and anomalies. This will allow you to see the success and status of various parts of a
company at a glance and to make better business choices. Most dashboards have a drilling
capability which will help you to explore more accurate information instantly or display
the information from another perspective. The major advantages of dashboards include
the ability to visualize information at any time, to accurately detect patterns, to keep track
of key success metrics, and to gain full visibility or snapshots rapidly without running
several reports. (Conrad, 2020)
5. Ad Hoc Reporting
Ad-hoc is a Latin term that translates literally into "for this." It refers to an approach that
has been formulated for a single question or concern and is not expected to be updated or
adapted for multiple activities. Ad hoc reporting is a common business concept that refers
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
20
to a study or model created to address a particular business issue. In the absence of a daily
audit, the primary justification for ad hoc reporting might be to fill in a blank on an asneeded basis. Instead, it should be used to help the making of a significant business
decision. To decide whether buying the equipment will improve profitability, you may
build some ad hoc analysis. Finally, the information gathered from an ad hoc report
would be unique to addressing one question, but using a web report or a dashboard
builder may also be explored much further.
6. Geospatial Mapping
Location intelligence apps will take the data and convert it into graphical and
cartographic representations, simplifying the spatial data. At a glance, it becomes much
clearer to judge which regions perform better than others and which ones require special
attention.
7. Operational Reports
Business intelligence features like this will provide the leaders of the company with a
comprehensive overview of the everyday activities at the end of each day, providing them
the details they need to make important decisions.
8. Pivot Tables
Pivot tables are able to derive significant characteristics from abroad, messy data set
automatically. Calculations such as grouping, numbering, or combining the data
contained in one table can be done and the results summarized can be seen in another
table. In order to evaluate knowledge and discover hidden patterns, pivot tables are
important methods.
9. User-Specific Security
To limit the access of those users to certain data sets, BI tools can allow you to
personalize individuals or groups of users with your BI features and applications. Some
applications have user-specific data sources where, based on who's using the program, a
particular application draws from multiple data sources.
10. Open Integration
In addition to the organization's records, Smart BI systems would be able to collect
information from email, social media, websites, and more. For instance, the BI platform
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
21
might complement the data with feedback and comments about goods instead of just
having your internal sales data. (Conrad, 2020)
Comparing and Contrasting the Range of Information Systems and Technologies
that Can be Used to Support Organisations at Operational, Tactical, and Strategic
Levels
1. QlikView
Figure 10: QlikView interface
As the receiver of results, QlikView is a solution that focuses on the customer. In a
workflow close to the way developers work while analyzing data, it helps users to test and
discover their data. This software aims to preserve the connection between data in order
to maintain flexibility in its approach to data analysis and visualization. This encourages
the discovery of your knowledge, despite all conditions, by the end-user searching a
certain piece of data with an understanding of the retrieval of all related objects, even
though the sources of the items appropriate to the quest are extremely incoherent.
QlikView is unbelievably customizable. It allows any little detail of an item to be set and
modified and the look and sound of any visualizations and dashboards to be personalized.
With such a great deal of versatility, an optimized ETL (Extract, Convert, Load) engine is
also available that helps you to run regular data cleaning operations. But it can turn out to
be expensive. Also, for average users, QlikView's dashboards and reports are easy to use.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
22
Building the reports, however, can be very difficult as it requires a high level of developer
experience, proficiency in default SQL, as well as training to create database interactions
with QlikView’s proprietary query language. (Bobriakov, 2019)
Features
•
The excellent combination of uniqueness and efficiency of QlikView gives it a
strong spot among other BI suppliers and has a wide range of valuable
applications for any enterprise operating with vastly different sizes across
different industries.
•
QlikView has a myriad of capabilities that make it incredibly useful based on data
from various sources to build sophisticated dashboards.
•
One of these capabilities is the ability of QlikView to automatically exploit data
associations: it can identify the relationships between different data objects in a
collection without any specific user pre-configuration work. The automation of
this activity significantly accelerates the process of designing the dashboard.
Table 4: Advantages and Disadvantages of QlikView
Perspective
Advantages
• Attractive user interface.
• Fast rendering of both graphs and
• The unintentional combining of
some data aspects while filtering.
• No ability to union bookmark
tables.
End-User
Disadvantages
• Easy to set up filtering for any
results together.
• No
kind of visuals.
• Ability to mail reports in the
ability
for
non-technical
employees to self-service.
convenient form of PDF.
• Supports data imports from a • The syntax is not clear and
comprehensive variety of sources.
• Convenient tools for building
obvious and expression formulas
look unusual.
filters, tables, and charts with • Some of the basic features are
Developer
ease.
either impossible to apply, or
• Undisputed speed of loading and
really complicated to program.
processing of data, even with • Complications using QlikView as
millions of instances.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
an enterprise tool.
23
• Allows community collaboration.
• Terrible
reporting
(email)
functionality.
2. Klipfolio
Figure 11: Klipfolio interface
Klipfolio is a 100 percent cloud-based BI solution as there no desktop framework is
required, and that offers a fully informative data visualization and dashboard composition
platform. This allows the most effective analysis of results, improves real-time solutions
and optimization, rather than relying on a periodic regression model. Klipfolio facilitates,
both online and offline, access to a number of data sources. A multitude of cloud-hosted
storages, including Google Sheets, Relational DBs, and other resources that include data
in all sorts of ways, is built into the online outlets. The connection options range from
Google Analytics, Trello, and Twitter to various marketing devices such as Oracle Sales
Cloud, Mix panel, and Radian6 Sales Marketing. Here, under the Services sector, you can
find the full guide for networking services. Using the RESTful API, it is also possible to
connect to our own database.
A great number of offline service forms are provided by Klipfolio: MS Excel, CSV,
XML, JSON, and others. The full list of references can be found through the same link as
for the above-mentioned online sources but in the Data repositories section. In order to
extract a view of data, build, convert, and exchange custom visualizations that will expose
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
24
the functional sense behind some insipid numbers, all these data sources, either
individually or in conjunction, can be easily used to combine different metrics. In order to
promote the exploration of dashboards, Klipfolio implements the concept of
responsiveness by leveraging different technical devices, from smartphones and laptops
to personal computers and smart TVs that are mounted on conference room walls.
(Bobriakov, 2019)
Features
•
Integration of numerous data sources in a single report
•
Infinite connection for as several users as necessary
•
Management of access rights and limitations for significant information
•
Mobile accessibility (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows)
•
Flexible REST connector for setting up custom data sources
•
Protected connection to SQL databases
•
Support for Excel, CSV, JSON, XML file formats
•
Handy annotations to reports that are seen by users with whom the report is shared
•
Self-service KPI editing platform
•
Easy to use threshold indicators
Table 5: Advantages and Disadvantages of Klipfolio
Advantages
Disadvantages
• A great deal of flexibility regarding the • The steep learning curve for both
look and feel, calculations, and IT
complex
connectivity.
operations.
• Attractive and smooth
and
simplex
essential
interface for • The premium price is charged for custom
creating dashboards, clips, and tabs.
• On-demand support.
CSS styling operations.
• Pricing per account only goes down
• Continuous development, the introduction
beyond 10+ users.
of many new features and options on a • No features of ad-hoc analysis or ad-hoc
regular basis.
reporting.
• API supports, as well as support for a • No
variety of popular data formats.
• Real-time data analysis.
Amindu Virashan
services
of
predictive
analysis,
budgeting, and forecasting.
• All calculations are done via convoluted
COL/A-066789
25
• Easy integration with third-party software.
formulas, as opposed to the simple drag
and drop solution of other competitors.
3. Tableau
Figure 12: Tableau interface
Tableau is another huge player in this industry today. Tableau zeros in on data analytics
via visualization, as most other BI software. It is intended for the easy development and
delivery of interactive data dashboards that offer an informative representation through
the convenient means of a simple, but powerful graphics of dynamics, patterns of
transition, and data density distributions. Like many other providers, offers the ability to
link to a range of multi-system data points, such as data structures structured in file
formats (CSV, JSON, XML, MS Excel, etc.), relational and non-relational data systems
(PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, etc.), cloud systems, etc. (AWS, Oracle
Cloud, Google BigQuery, Microsoft Azure).
The main difference from rivals is that Data Mixing has a special function in Tableau.
The opportunity to communicate in real-time is another innovative benefit that makes it a
worthwhile investment for commercial and non-commercial organizations alike. In
Tableau, there are many ways to share the reports. By publishing them on a Tableau
server; through the Tableau Reader email capability; by freely publishing the Tableau
workbook and providing access to everyone with a connection. This magnitude of choices
makes for tremendous versatility and avoids certain limitations. (Bobriakov, 2019)
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
26
Features
•
Complimentary sharing ability (with certain limitations)
•
Support for connection to 30+ data source types
•
Mixing data sources
•
Support for cubes
•
Integration with R Excellent in mapping Ready-made drivers for many databases
•
Leadership in community building efforts (various training videos, blogs, forums,
social network engagement).
Table 6: Advantages and Disadvantages of Tableau
Advantages
Disadvantages
Intuitive and attractive user interfaces.
Initial data preparation is required.
Seamless integration with many modern big
Features may seem too specialized and
data platforms, from Hadoop to Google
restricting.
BigQuery.
Cannot
Provides an extensive roster of native data
applications.
connections allowing easy integration with
There is no concept of versioning with the
data from many sources.
Tableau Server.
Responsiveness:
Supports
for
mobile
replace
financial
reporting
Requires some IT consultancy.
platforms. Etc.
Powerful community collaboration.
New updates are regularly released and easy
to install.
Reliable customer supports.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
27
4. Geckoboard
Figure 13: Geckoboard interface
Just another approach for cloud-based visualization. If an individual needs to show any
values using the simple predefined widget, it might be a suitable tool for the person.
Geckoboard offers the ability to compose dashboards using different widgets. It has a rich
library of ready Facebook integrations; Twitter, Salesforce APIs, therefore one could
imagine the social media engagements or company data instantly. It also offers the option
to build a customized integration in two ways from the data sources: Pull or Drive. Pull
means that every N seconds (N value could be set) the widget makes a request for the
data linked to a certain URL (which anyone could also set) from which it collects the
data. Push implies that by submitting an HTTP request to the special widget URL, it may
manually feed the widget with info. This will associate and view the data user has
submitted with the widget on the dashboard. Geckoboard offers users a few potential
models for the widget, such as line charts or histograms, along with its own JSON data
format that can be shown. The data must be sent in a suitable format by the pull server or
push feeder. Otherwise, on the dashboard, it would not show anything. (Bobriakov, 2019)
Features
•
Integration to a variety of services such as Google Analytics, Zendesk, Bitium,
etc.
•
An attractive, user-friendly interface
•
Data transformation support
•
Collaboration facilities
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
28
•
Customization of visualizations
•
Fused responsiveness
•
Customer support and documentation are really helpful
Table 7: Advantages and Disadvantages of Geckoboard
Advantages
Disadvantages
• A rich integration library: Can instantly • Lack of functionality: No specific controls
add some basic visualizations to the
or filters on the dashboard. The user cannot
dashboard.
change the data slice. Etc.
• Simple custom integration API: can • Limited widgets library.
programmatically put data in a suitable
format to your dashboard.
• Pretty and adaptive to the screen size.
• Great and gentle customer support.
5. Power BI
Figure 14: MS Power BI interface
The software solution for business intelligence and analytics needs, developed and funded
by Microsoft, is Power BI. The center of Power BI is an online infrastructure with several
interaction options, which also contains many data link channels provided by third-party
applications and services. Power BI delivers a straightforward web-based GUI with a
plethora of helpful tools that range from customizable simulation to minimal data source
controls. With the inclusion of tools for data cleaning and normalization, the desktop
framework extends the usable features to an even larger extent. The mobile app, which is
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
29
available on various devices, is another means of operating and making data-driven
decisions on the move. Sharing insights is also extremely simple by posting your work to
the Power BI service and generating lively dashboards from a mix of reports that makes
all members centralized and easy to follow up on data contact. Power BI is succinct and
minimalist, yet robust and strong. However, it still has fluctuations, like many other
programs, which must be carefully considered. (Bobriakov, 2019)
Features
•
Power BI has a free basic version, giving users a chance to explore it first
•
It supports plenty of ways to incorporate or import your data (streaming data,
cloud services, excel spreadsheets, and third-party connections)
•
It has interactive dashboards with a real-time feed of data
•
Simple API for integrating Power BI with your applications
•
Different ways to share reports and dashboards
•
Multiplatform support (Web, Desktop, Mobile)
Table 8: Advantages and Disadvantages of Power BI
Advantages
Disadvantages
• More affordable than its main competitors • Unnecessary complexity when stepping
and offers a free version.
outside the basis of functions. Especially
• Integration with other Microsoft products:
works within a suite of the business tool
built-in
library
of
visuals
MS Excel.
• Performance issues when streaming or
along with Excel, Azure, SQL Server.
• The
for users with limited previous exposure to
is
impressive and robust, besides there is
importing big data sets in Power BI, Such
as time-outs and freezes.
support for custom visuals great and • Lack of data preparation and cleaning
gentle customer support.
tools.
• Ability to connect to almost any kind of
data source, either cloud-based or onpremises.
• The intuitiveness of the Power BI
interface decisions.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
30
Table 9: Comparing and Contrasting the Range of Information Systems at Different
Levels in the Organization
Strategic
Operational
Basis
Tactical Intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence
Level of Seniority
Senior Management
Middle Management
Junior Management
Time Application
Long-term
Medium-term
Routine
Level of
Complex
Less Complex
Simple
Executive
Decision Support
Management
Information Systems
Systems (DSS)
Information
Complexity
Information
System
Business Focus
(EIS)
Systems (MIS)
Ex: EIS Power BI
Ex: DSS SAP
Ex: MIS EasyWay
Archive long terms
Conduct short term
Manage daily
organizational goals
analysis to achieve
operations
strategic goals
Data
Historical metrics
Historical metrics
Real-time metrics
Part 3
Designing of Functional Interfaces on the Business Intelligence Application of
Healthguard for the task of Generating Key Influencers Report
Task: Key Influencers Report
The visuals of the key influencers help anyone to realize the influences that lead to the
metric most like. It analyzes the results, classifies the variables, and shows them as key
influencing factors.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
31
Figure 15: Key Influencers Report
A Critical Review of the Design in Terms of Specific User Requirements and
Identifying Customizations has been Integrated into the Design
The organizations’ main business requirement is to monitor buying and selling health
products, and one of the main tasks is to generate Key Influencers Report. Obtaining and
monitoring Key Influencers Report is important for the business in terms of managing
buying and selling products as well as making future decisions. There are several
significant aspects included in the system on generating Key Influencers Report.
The organization needed to generate a Key Influencers Report for a certain period of
time, and the system has designed to select the date as per user requirement. The details in
this report will be significantly important for the business owner in future decision
makings. The management could check the history of the cost the products have been
buying and selling, and this will help for better negotiations with the dealers. Also, the
management could distinguish the products which are in high demand as well as the
products which has a low demand. Most importantly, The management could clearly
calculate the quantity of the products being sold, the income, and the profit.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
32
Although the above aspects are meeting the client's basic business requirements, the
application could improve with more user-friendly aspects. One of the suggestions is that
the system should be able to illustrate the details generated in the Key Influencers Report
in a graphical form in data visualization. These data visualization could be bar charts, pie
charts, line graphs, and info graphs. Having details in a graphical form would help for
decision-makers to understand easily and clearly in order to make the right decisions.
Additionally, some of the details are shown in the Key Influencers Report could be
displayed in the dashboard which would help the user to keep a close track. As an
example, total sales for the day or stock items with low quantities.
The designed interface has some more features which could be used by the relevant
managers and the decision-makers of the organization in terms of taking decisions and
future improvements of the organization. As an example, the organization has the
business aspects in Colombo, Kandy, Kurunegala, Negombo, Galle, and Jaffna and the
key influences can be viewed according to the sales done in the past periods. Moreover,
the interface supports viewing and generate reports as per to the category of the health
products as listed in figure 15. This information could be used for the decision-makers to
understand the patterns of the sale of the health products and especially the period they
are in demand.
Task 4
The Importance and the Impact of Business Intelligence Tools and Technologies that
can be used by the Organization for Effective Decision Making
Slow decision-making cycles are among the most challenging obstacles businesses face.
When teams seek new strategic priorities and overcome new coordination obstacles, the
teams can become ever more challenging as they scale up and grow. Combined with solid
data and limited access to information, these suboptimal processes may discourage
employees and decrease their productivity which of course can hurt the company’s profit.
The implementation of Business Intelligence dashboards will enable teams to be decisive
and introduce long-lasting cultural changes to the way the company operates in order to
motivate teams to work together and retain a competitive advantage. Dashboards for
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
33
Business Analytics offer quick access to convert raw data into appropriate, visually
appealing formats. For all workers, it allows data customization and organization to be
clearly seen. KPIs, insights, and metrics visualization will make it easy to make datadriven choices. But how do dashboards for Business Intelligence really build value for a
business and make the endeavor genuinely worthwhile? Here are the most critical
advantages of implementing strategies for Business Intelligence. (Rybicka, 2019)
•
Timely Access to Information
The swift and quick access to information that affects the productivity of the staff is
among the many advantages of Business Intelligence dashboards. Whenever possible,
staff obtain success metrics data instead of spending time to hunt down, or worst,
speculate about, main data. Well-crafted enterprise dashboards display reports of
notifications that save important time and properties. As a consequence, decision-making
time is declining and morale and efficiency are increasing.
•
Data-driven Decision Making
Company executives preferred to guess how best to optimize market operations before the
advent of sophisticated data analytics. Complex analytics nowadays offer managers
unprecedented insights into business operations. Data-driven decision-making has
become the rule, and executives are kept up to date by Business Intelligence tools. Such
options may affect revenue projections, budget plans, employee incentives, and retention,
as well as enhancing consumer loyalty. Many of these experiments could lead to
company-wide modifications that would not have existed otherwise. Also, Business
Intelligence tools serve as a forum for producing smart reports, dashboards, and KPIs to
keep the team on the same page and encourage them to act accordingly.
•
Performance
A lack of specific priorities and an overarching sense of intent are among the components
that adversely impact employee productivity. Burnout, rage, and micromanagement are
both bottlenecks to successful decision-making. Nevertheless, by optimizing the
workdays and responding rapidly to changes, BI can enable both workers and
management to resolve these difficulties. This way, each worker feels accountable for the
success of the company.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
34
•
Agility
Productive employees and high-performing are also flexible workers, predictably. The
Business Intelligence dashboard is also a time-saving instrument that forces staff to
concentrate their efforts and focus on seeking new solutions. There is no need for agile
and self-organizing teams to be told which mission to carry on. BI dashboards can help to
outline key management expectation criteria and to show hard-data to the staff.
•
Engagement
Employee involvement is another aspect on which BI dashboards may have a significant
effect. A consistent aim and introduction of pertinent evidence is a crucial driver behind a
project's contribution to completion. BI may only guide the project between success and
loss over the tipping point.
•
Motivation
Many organizations that actively implement employee incentive BI dashboards show
them prominently in the workplace. Getting the main details of the company displayed on
a big screen helps keep workers updated on the company's status and can remind them to
keep up with the good work.
•
Achievements
It has already been mentioned that BI dashboards, completed or otherwise, enable the
show of both priorities and activities. This is a credible source of data on the projects that
the departments are currently working on and that will require a helping hand to move
against critical objectives. Within a wider project and in the business as a whole, an
individual using BI dashboards can recognize their particular position. In addition, BI
makes it simple to track top performers and use them as examples. (Rybicka, 2019)
The Legal/ Regulatory Issues Involved in the Secure Exploitation of Business
Intelligence Tools in an Organization, and the Identified Legal Issues in the
Designed System.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
35
Big data carries with its new issues about privacy and protection. While the data
capability is increasing exponentially, we have imperfect solutions for many security
issues that affect even local, self-contained data. Many security challenges that concern
even local, self-contained data have incomplete solutions. Although data warehousing
deals with the integration of large amounts of data through various enterprise processes,
BI is concerned with how consolidated data can be used to make logical business
decisions. Nevertheless, privacy becomes a problem whenever private data is accessed.
Data hacks, location-based services, cloud infrastructure, and regulatory developments
push organizations to review the internal privacy practices and update them.
On the priority list, data breaches rate high and big data breaches would have an even
bigger effect. The more details there are, the more possible it is that sensitive and
confidential information is used. As well as, intelligence sources differ widely, allowing
numerous infiltration opportunities. In addition, distributed computing, the only way to
handle the vast volume of big data, throws up extra possibilities for data breaches. The
success of security policies can be adversely impacted by political and institutional
challenges, and companies are vulnerable to malicious harm by dissatisfied or careless
workers. Organizations can categorize sensitive information, limit access, encrypt data as
it is distributed through open networks, encrypt and store data on portable devices and
secure it from workers, rogue administrators, and hackers who have been granted many
privileges. Consideration should also be extended to data loss prevention tools, digital
signatures, password protection, and privacy protection tools. (Parms, 2015)
Data Encryption: Realizing that hackers are always looking at Business Intelligence
rather than anything else, if it is unraveled, one can ensure that it is secure. Before it is
saved or given to somebody else, the information must be secured, because doing so
would make the hacker search elsewhere. It may be a strategic decision if it is able to
segment the data storage and network since solid data can be secure. This way, if a hacker
is able to break into one section, as the medium for entry is not accessible, they will not
be able to jump to the another. (Krishna, 2019)
Information leakage and the information tracks: One of the core components of a
business organization is data and information. The development of the organization and
the potential developments of the business were evaluated by gathering data relevant to
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
36
the company in the form of business intelligence. A huge volume of data is gathered and
stored for data processing purposes. Lack of the IoT platform security features would
cause the hacker or the attackers to access the company details. Tracking and controlling
the details connected to the organization would be easy for the hacker or the intruders.
This will help the illegal agent or the top hackers exploit the company-related data that
will contribute to the organization's financial loss. The lack of IoT platform protection
contributes to these types of problems
Security Liability: Security liability policy covers against liabilities caused by the failure
to encrypt electronic data containing others’ private information, the inadvertent
dissemination of a computer virus, the inability of registered users to access your websites
or computer network, and failure to alert persons as required by any security breach
warning statute that exists. In the past, security issues were fixed with the door lock. Data
encryption is a much more sophisticated data protection system for computerized data
networks to safeguard sensitive information and precious resources. However, this
enhanced security is accompanied by further monitoring. Inherent risks to all protective
devices are, however, a matter of which privileges can be forfeited. Finally, in order to
attain both successful and ethical stability, IT professionals need to compare risk and
freedom.
Cloud Attacks: For the storage and transmission of data, IoT uses cloud computing
technology and cloud servers. In the context of a cloud attack, the data collected by the
company on the server for data collection purposes could be affected. In the cloud server,
data pertaining to business intelligence is processed. The assault on the computer in the
cloud would lead to the alteration or misuse of the data on the cloud server. This
challenge may have a negative influence on data related to business intelligence.
Botnet Attacks: Botnet attack is typically conducted with the intention of interrupting the
regular activity work or it may be used to degrade the target system's entire services. A
large number of botnets are needed for its creation before initializing the attack. Upon
initialization of the attack, the botnets are sent to the system to threaten the network on a
wide scale. The IoT attack request for business intelligence arrives in the form of emails
or in the form of messages. The attack types may have a detrimental effect on business
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
37
intelligence by slowing down the servers by keeping the network busy for the customer to
reach the network by freezing the server temporally.
Denial of Service: Another issue of concern in the business intelligence aspect of the IoT
network is the denial-of-service attack. Denial of service happens if the service is
inaccessible during the normal work process. Service unavailability can occur for
different reasons. Very large amounts of computer systems in which business intelligence
is used can be impacted by the implementation of unauthorized files or malware into the
organization's infrastructure. Injecting the malicious software into the organization's
infrastructure would produce a detrimental effect where it will make the data unavailable
for careful review to the staff or the and make a strategic decision. When sending the
authentication approval, the network or servers are unable to locate the return address of
the attackers or the hackers. It helps the company entity to better evaluate the details and
the impact of denial of service allows the server to run slow. (Krishna, 2019)
The Conducted Research to Identify Specific Examples of Organizations that Have
Used Business Intelligence Tools to Enhance or Improve Operations
01. Coca-Cola Bottling Company (CCBC)
Problem: Access to real-time sales and operating data was limited due to manual
reporting procedures.
Solution/ Improvement: The business intelligence unit at Coca-Cola is in charge of all
reports for the company's sales and marketing activities. The team used their BI platform
to automate manual reporting processes, saving more than 260 hours per year - the
equivalent of more than six 40-hour working weeks. Through mobile dashboards that
deliver accurate, actionable information and a distinct competitive advantage, report
automation and other business system integrations bring customer relationship
management (CRM) data back into the hands of salespeople in the field. Self-service BI
fosters extra efficient partnerships between IT and business users, allowing participants to
optimize their knowledge. Instead of manual research and reporting duties, analysts and
IT should concentrate on big-picture strategy and long-term technologies like business
data governance.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
38
02. HelloFresh Centralized Digital Marketing
Problem: Digital marketing reporting was inefficient, time-consuming, and manual.
Solution/ Improvement: The business analytics team at HelloFresh saved 10-20 hours a
day by automating reporting processes thanks to a centralized business intelligence
solution. It also gave the broader marketing team the ability to create regionally tailored
digital marketing strategies. HalloFresh has developed three buyer people to guide their
efforts on the basis of aggregate customer behavior tests. To see and track data in realtime means that team members can respond and enhance marketing campaigns on
customers' behavior. As a result, the conversion rates were boosted and customer
retention was improved.
03. Des Moines Public Schools
Problem: Manual Excel reports prevented managers from seeing up-to-date data such as
attendance, which prevented early intervention.
Solution: The Des Moines Public Schools used advanced analyzes to enhance the rate of
dropouts and to better understand the effect on individual student outcomes of different
teaching techniques.
A multilinear regression model – called "the abandonment coefficient" – used the DMPS
Research and Data Management team to assess student indicators to determine which
students may be at risk of drop-out. To exploit the model, they used a business
intelligence platform. Visualization of the data facilitated the identification of an
individual, risky students, and the attention required by staff.
Dashboards developed by the Research and Data Management team supplied DMPS
teachers and employees with real-time analytics, allowing them to respond and interfere
sooner, vastly enhancing the response success rate. Five years of historical data have
promoted real-time analytics. This allowed employees to dig up historical data on-site to
verify insights into existing students.
04. Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurant
Problem: Disconnecting data sources prevented teams from seeing restaurant views.
Solution: Chipotle Mexican Grill is the world's largest chain of restaurants in the USA,
with over 2,400 stores. For a modern, self-service BI platform, Chipotle remove its
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
39
conventional BI solution. This enabled them to develop a centralized view of operations
to track national restaurant efficiency.
As staff now have more information access, reporting speed has tripled every four months
for strategic projects and saved tens of thousands of hours. "This was the ticket for the
next level with all measurements and comprehension," said Zach Sippl, Business
Intelligence Director. (Tableau, 2021)
New Business Intelligence Trends and Technologies that can be Further Enhance
the Operational Activities in the Selected Organizational Context
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Figure 16: AI
Merging Artificial Intelligence with hyper-automation and engineering, and focusing on
the level of protection at which AI risks developing insecure attack points. AI is a science
that seeks to make robots perform what complicated human intelligence typically does.
Although humans work on programs to prevent such inconvenience, AI and machine
learning are revolutionizing the way humans collaborate with certain analytics and data
management, while taking into account enhanced security measures. Companies evolve
from static to updating dashboards every moment and giving notifications when
something is not the way it should be. If it learns from historical trends and patterns,
solutions such as an AI algorithm based on the most sophisticated neural networks have
high precision and anomaly detection. That way, any unforeseen event will notify the user
of the system immediately. (Durcevic, 2020)
An additional feature of AI in BI solutions is the ability to automatically completely
analyze the dataset without requiring an effort from the end. Users simply select the data
source those who want to evaluate and the variable on which the algorithm should
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
40
concentrate (For example, revenue). With growth/trends/forecast, what-if analysis with
Artificial Intelligence, calculations will then be run and come back to the user.
2. Data Discovery
Data discovery is a user-centric enterprise method by gathering and integrating data from
various silos and databases into a single source to facilitate research. Data discovery
solutions exist organizations get around the disparity that occurs between individuals
planning analytical corporate knowledge and individuals doing the research and
consuming the insights. It makes it easy to navigate and dig down into data for
individuals with no IT expertise to derive the knowledge they need. In order to
incorporate heat maps, pivot tables, and geographical maps, visualization has progressed.
As a consequence, corporations will now create displays of their findings in high-fidelity.
The wave of data exploration is set to continue as one of the hottest developments in
business intelligence in 2021 and beyond. (Huez, 2020)
3. SaaS BI
SaaS is one of the business intelligence tools that has seen a major change over the last
year and will continue to affect how we conduct business tasks. The future of market
analytics rests in the potential of carrying out its own research, with resources that can be
reached regardless of location and can be tailored to present and future working
conditions. The pandemic has demonstrated that remote employment, especially for
businesses that do not rely on everyday human interaction to fulfill their routine duties, is
becoming a trend. In order to achieve more consistency and access cloud information
from any computer, several organizations have switched to SaaS BI. Such technology will
begin to grow as one of the most influential market intelligence developments in 2021,
allowing data movement and control from various locations. SaaS is becoming the best
tool for distributed and diverse teams that need tools to help them simplify their business
operations and ensure that by operating remotely, there are no bottlenecks.
4. Collaborative BI
Collaborative Business Intelligence is not a movement that is totally new. This
development has, however, gained traction in the face of the need for greater cooperation
in the market climate. Collaborative BI, described as a convergence of social media, web
2.0 technology, and online reporting resources, streamlines analytics sharing and thus
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
41
facilitates collaborative decision-making. Decisions are no longer held by a single entity
or community, are shared by several departments, and need to be organized across
regions in several situations. As a consequence, it has become extremely important to find
common ground and this is precisely where collective BI resources shine. They
encourage teams to work towards a conclusion together, using the real-time side-by-side
exploration of results. (Chirca, 2020)
5. Mobile BI
The mobile BI meaning applies to access to and use of information by mobile devices.
Through the growing usage of mobile devices for industry, mobile BI is able to put
business intelligence and analytics closer to the customer when handled right, not only in
managerial roles. Data can be consumed nearly anywhere and anywhere with mobile BI,
or during a train trip, in the airport departure lounge, or during a conference break. A few
years back, smart BI, powered by the popularity of mobile smartphones, was viewed by
many as a big wave in BI and analytics. There is a degree of disillusionment in the
industry nowadays and consumers attach far less value to this trend. The first big
advantage is the willingness of end-users to view data at any time and from any place on
their mobile BI device. This helps them to get real-time data and analytics, which
increases their everyday activities and guarantees that they can respond to a broader
variety of incidents more efficiently.
The incorporation into organizational business processes of mobile BI functions increases
the diffusion of BI within organizations and also brings benefits in the form of additional
knowledge. By extending knowledge and reducing the time taken to look for appropriate
information, accelerates the decision-making process. Operational productivity is
enhanced with this real-time access to data, and corporate cooperation is applied.
Conclude, mobile BI offers greater information access, quicker response time, and more
efficient service, as well as improving internal connectivity and shortening workflows.
6. Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics Tools
Utilizing predictive and prescriptive analytics is definitely the most common theme right
now, and we'll see this continue as we move deeper into the new decade. This is all
related to the Big Data movement, and in the coming months, it will be nice to use this
knowledge to improve intelligence. Predictive Analytics extracts and uses data mining to
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
42
predict patterns. From forecasting client numbers to potential transactions, it can be used
in any variety of ways. To boost market intelligence and create new connections that may
otherwise have been overlooked, it uses Artificial Neural Networks, Autoregressive
Integrated Step Average.
These associations are used by Prescriptive Analytics to decide on KPIs and to centralize
behavior by using data visualization and data storytelling. In order for the business to go
forward and expand, they help communicate strategies and structure important and less
critical behavior.
These analytical instruments are becoming more interconnected with action-oriented BI
as well as with NLP over the next 10 years. Throughout the decade, these analytical
instruments will begin to develop and become more reliable. And most certainly, we can
see BI apps using these tools as a core aspect of their KPI dashboard and their ability to
successfully leverage Big Data and IoT. (Lewis, 2020)
7. Data Automation
Without data (analysis) automation, business intelligence subjects wouldn't be complete.
Over the last decade, we have seen so much data generated, collected, and ready to be
analyzed that enterprises and organizations have been seriously searching for new
methods for data automation to handle large amounts of knowledge obtained. Business
intelligence has provided many opportunities for automation and even more in 2021. For
any data need a company might have, long-standing gaps between data scientists and
business consumers are increasingly mixed into a one-stop-shop-from gathering,
reviewing, tracking, and reporting on results. Intelligent reporting may be a scenario:
predictive analytics and automatic reports improve the capacity of enterprise users to
automate data on their own, without the support of the IT department. Data scientists, on
the other hand, can also handle sophisticated processing where manual scripting and
coding are required.
8. Embedded Analytics
When data analytics happens within the natural workflow of a customer, the name of the
game is embedded analytics. Businesses have realized the potential of incorporating
multiple BI solutions into their application, such as KPI dashboards or reports, thus
enhancing their decision-making procedures and increasing productivity. Companies have
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
43
discovered, historically strangled by spreadsheets, how the use of embedded BI helps
them to provide greater utility within their applications. This is one of the analytics
innovations that can be applied quickly since this opportunity is already provided by
many manufacturers and means that the program runs smoothly and without much
difficulty.
9. Real-time Data Analytics
This year, the need for real-time data has grown enormously and will continue to do so in
2022. After the pandemic came, we have noticed that the criteria for real-time and
detailed alerts are crucial in designing suitable plans to react to such unfortunate
circumstances. Any states have used data to make the best possible options, and
corporations have followed in these unpredictable times to ensure sustainability. Not only
for companies, but also for the general public, real-time access to data has become a
standard, where we might see news conferences packed with the latest facts, graphs, and
figures that described some of the pandemic counter-strategies.
It is identical in business: forecasting and warnings can undoubtedly be used even more in
designing proper business responses and plans with more factors added into the mix for
future endeavors. Also, the implementation of live dashboards would allow businesses to
view important information about their company quickly and respond if any possible
problems occur. Up-to-date data is now more relevant than ever before, and enterprises
still need to adapt because the climate has changed. High gear is now the standard for
data access which is one of the reasons that some firms can thrive, and others can not.
10. Data Preparation (Interactive Story)
Data preparation is the procedure of preparing and providing data for data mining, data
discovery, and advanced analytics. The upgrading digitalization of business operations
makes it important for enterprises to allow data to collect feedback from as many
consumers as possible. Many businesses today perceive data planning as the secret to
growing their ability to use data successfully in a distributed way to improve business
processes or, in the first place, to allow new, creative business models.
Achieving effective and agile data preparation is of vital significance in the current
marketplace. Increasingly competitive and saturated markets build a dynamic business
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
44
climate in which it is important to be able to discern by exploiting the power of analytics.
To gain insight into changing business dynamics, companies fail to keep up with the need
for data for analytics. In order to provide data for in-depth research, the demand for
methodological landscapes is strong, and meeting these demands requires professional
professionals and a new approach to data preparation. (bi-survey.com, 2020)
Evaluation of How Organizations could use Business Intelligence to Extend Their
Target Audience and Make Them More Competitive within the Market, Taking
Security Legislation into Consideration
Business intelligence is an essential method for maintaining efficiency and strength. The
Business Analytics Industry is emerging with a slew of tools for recovering, breaking
down, and monetizing raw data. The only course in this fast-paced economy is to keep
going forward. In a matter of minutes, a top-notch business intelligence tool will help to
compile complicated data and make better business decisions. Business intelligence is not
a stand-alone process; it necessitates the proper incorporation of big data with operational
inputs. Furthermore, the most successful use of BI necessitates detailed comprehension of
AI, Big Data, and Deep Learning programs. It goes without saying that in this fiercely
contested market, companies must use these tactics to concentrate directly on customer
retention and loyalty. Furthermore, companies must fix many SEO vulnerabilities such as
keyword cannibalization, domain flux, and others, which can only be solved with the aid
of strategic BI software. In the past, corporate executives relied heavily on their instincts
and expertise when making critical decisions. Nevertheless, the world has changed, and it
is now important to integrate required levels of Market Intelligence, followed by
successful Big Data inputs, in order to outperform any applicable competition. (Schmidt,
2016)
Optimization of the Existing Business Model to Gain Competitive Advantage
Companies should use Business Intelligence to direct their marketing campaigns in the
most successful way possible. To begin with, BI makes selective data analysis simpler,
particularly for marketers who struggle with manually collecting disparate data sets. BI
tools aid in the gathering of a range of consumer perspectives, such as behavioral
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
45
intelligence and even current expectations. Both of the gathered data will then be
integrated in order to refine the market model depending on the current audience.
In order to gain a competitive advantage of the target market BI can be used as a strategic
marketing initiative, after analyzing the current industry standards and consumer
behavioral changes BI could be used to develop augmented products and services to
become the market leader and sustain their profitability and the market share. While
taking BI advancements as a competitive advantage the data security of the existing
customer base is a vital role of the Business analyst such as in a bank or a finance
company BI can introduce a face recognition system to their ATM and CDM network and
to their online platforms could be an augmented services also from the other hand.
Customer Portal with Retina Scanning
Retinal scans chart a person's distinctive retina pattern. In the retina, the blood vessels
absorb light more efficiently than the surrounding tissue and are easily detected by
sufficient illumination. A retinal scan is achieved as the eye of a human casts into the eye
an unperceived pulse of low energy infrared light. This light beam traces a uniform retinal
direction. A retinal scan is a particularly secure method and in terms of detection, it is
incredibly exact and impossible to spoof. However, there are significant limitations to the
technology, including difficult image acquisition and small consumer applications.
Enrolment into a biometric scan scheme is always long since multiple image capture is
required to create an annoyance for the consumer. If a patient is acclimated to the
procedure, though, a retinal scan process may be detected in seconds. When it comes to
consumer security and consumer protection, some sensitive businesses such as financial
products and services, online services, and also the health care sector uses technology
advancement and the BI application in providing better service and protecting consumer
data, and make sure their privacy in business transactions. To attract high-end profitable
customers would be attracted to products and services where the customer is treated
individually and with utmost prestige in fulfilling their needs and wants. Using BI in
business depicts a win-win situation to both consumers and business.
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
46
Customized Strategizing
Businesses may use BI software to strategize on a location-based and personalized basis.
These tools assist a corporation in aggregating data from different sources as well as
defining the different techniques that are specific to each venue. Furthermore, BI tools are
capable of evaluating and also benchmarking the present and potential success of each
technique for the same area. As a result, when Business Intelligence is paired with
predictive analytics, the best position will be chosen by the concerned firm depending on
the plan it wants to execute. This helps money to be distributed selectively and used
optimally with minimum waste. (Srivastava, 2020)
Marketing Optimization
Marketing in the current world is no longer a game of chance. As a result, in order to
remain ahead of the competition, advertisers must use BI and analytics to refine their acts.
Needless to conclude, today is the era of data-driven knowledge and decision-making,
and in order to thrive, companies must sacrifice their intuition and experiences in favor of
relying solely on evidence. BI tools can be incredibly effective and satisfying when they
evaluate any component of the physical assets involved, such as foot traffic and even
revenue, to help advertisers make highly focused targeting decisions. It's also not
irrational to believe that adding BI resources into the marketing mix would boost the
marketing team's current SMM and SEO approach. The digital asset inferences, such as ecommerce behavior and website momentum, are then combined with these observations
to assess consumer exposure. Once you've checked all of the bases, it'll be easier to stop
any publicity blunders. The BI helps businesses to reach thousands of identical consumers
at the same time using its digital capabilities and also target the exact customer by
identifying their digital and social behavior over the internet. BI helps businesses to gain
their competitive advantage by accelerating their SEM & SEO strategies.
Inventory Analysis
In order to appeal to a varied client base, a number of market setups require a working
warehouse. This is where Business Intelligence plays a vital role, as it helps companies to
streamline their materials and storage needs, making resource management simpler than
ever. Most significantly, it all begins with an analysis of previous usage results, which is
fed into the current BI network. BI software, in combination with predictive analytics,
delivers real-time reporting focused on seasonal variables, previous experience, consumer
preferences, and the market. This function assists in the maximization of income thus
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
47
minimizing duplication to the maximum degree possible. Most notably, the streamlined
deployment of BI helps enterprises to achieve the requisite insight into a range of
activities. Both decision-making restrictions and bottlenecks can be removed this way.
Analysis of Customer Behavior
Also, the most common companies target a few parts of society, but any company has a
particular clientele. As a result, in order to survive in the competitive landscape, BI
methods must be used to evaluate consumer actions. BI is a form of extrapolated solution
collection that utilizes AI and machine learning to comprehend buyer personas and even a
dedicated and satisfying customer base. Customers who are loyal but not as effective as
desired can exist. This is where BI steps in to help firms carve out the right research that
helps them to consider and customer's purchasing patterns. BI helps businesses to identify
and interpret the consumer decision-making funnel and apply the optimum methods to
reach its target audience in a cost-effective and efficient manner. It becomes easier to
build a sales pitch based on consumer expectations in this manner. With such a tool,
cross-selling would no longer be a concern, and consumers would be engaged exclusively
on the basis of their budget and desires. Getting a working BI model within the
organization will, of course, make for the greatest possible extension of consumer
lifecycles. Furthermore, customer records, transaction history, and other information can
be fed into the BI system to deliver the most targeted outcomes. In the end, it all adds up
to a fun shopping experience. (Srivastava, 2020)
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
48
References
Adair, B., 2020. selecthub.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.selecthub.com/business-intelligence/saas-bi-tools-pros-cons/
[Accessed 10 February 2021].
Anon., 2020. jhigh.co.uk. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.jhigh.co.uk/Intermediate2/Using%20Information/6_levels_of_info.html
[Accessed 7 February 2021].
Astron.lk, 2018. astron.lk. [Online]
Available at: http://www.astron.lk/index.php/home/manufacturing
[Accessed 4 February 2021].
bigdataframework.org, 2019. bigdataframework.org. [Online]
Available at: https://www.bigdataframework.org/data-types-structured-vs-unstructureddata/
[Accessed 4 February 2021].
bi-survey.com, 2020. bi-survey.com. [Online]
Available at: https://bi-survey.com/data-preparation-survey/
[Accessed 16 February 2020].
Bobriakov, I., 2019. kdnuggets.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.kdnuggets.com/2018/02/comparative-analysis-top-6-bi-datavisualization-tools-2018.html/2
[Accessed 6 February 2021].
Chirca, A. A., 2020. visma.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.visma.com/blog/4-business-intelligence-trends-for-2020/
[Accessed 16 February 2021].
Conrad, A., 2020. selecthub.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.selecthub.com/business-intelligence/critical-businessintelligence-features/
[Accessed 8 February 2021].
Durcevic, S., 2020. datapine.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.datapine.com/blog/business-intelligence-trends/
[Accessed 6 February 2021].
Frankenfield, J., 2019. investopedia.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/predictive-modeling.asp
[Accessed 14 February 2021].
Huez, A., 2020. toucantoco.com. [Online]
Available at: https://toucantoco.com/blog/en/5-business-intelligence-trends-for-2020/
[Accessed 15 February 2021].
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
49
javatpoint.com, 2020. javatpoint.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.javatpoint.com/what-is-olap
[Accessed 14 February 2021].
Krishna, M., 2019. Security and Privacy Issues for Business Intelligence InIOT. Global
Security, Safety and Sustainability.
Lewis, S., 2020. loop-bi.com. [Online]
Available at: https://loop-bi.com/blog/2020-business-intelligence-trends/
[Accessed 17 February 2021].
Parahar, M., 2020. tutorialspoint.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/difference-between-structured-semistructured-and-unstructured-data
[Accessed 2 February 2021].
Parms, J., 2015. business.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.business.com/articles/privacy-and-security-issues-in-the-ageof-big-data/
[Accessed 3 February 2021].
Rybicka, M., 2019. lingarogroup.com. [Online]
Available at: https://lingarogroup.com/blog/the-impact-of-business-intelligence-toolson-employees/
[Accessed 2 February 2021].
Schmidt, S., 2016. blog.marketresearch.com. [Online]
Available at: https://blog.marketresearch.com/10-ways-business-intelligence-canimprove-your-organization
[Accessed 03 March 2021].
Schwarz , L., 2016. netsuite.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/software-system.shtml
[Accessed 10 February 2021].
Srivastava, A., 2020. [Online]
Available at: https://www.business2community.com/business-intelligence/how-bi-toolscan-help-organizations-stay-competitive-throughout-2020-and-beyond-02278757
[Accessed 02 March 2021].
viewpoint.com, 2020. viewpoint.com. [Online]
Available at: https://www.viewpoint.co.za/blog/how-to-identify-three-types-ofprocesses-in-your-organisation/
[Accessed 12 February 2021].
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
50
Gantt Chart
Figure 17: Assignment Timeline
Amindu Virashan
COL/A-066789
51