7 best business intelligence tools key features and limitation

Having emerged in the 1960s and developed in the 1980s, Business Intelligence focuses on converting raw data into actionable insights to impact businesses. Business intelligence is a combination of business analytics, data mining & visualization, data tools and infrastructure that facilitates self-service analysis and efficient governance of data to make data-driven decisions. 

Below are some of the business intelligence tools to drive changes, forecast the future to improve adaptability and avoid inefficiencies. 

1. Yellowfin BI 

Yellow BI is an enterprise analytics tool that offers automated analysis, ad-hoc analysis, and collaboration. It also provides a customizable multi-tenant architecture to change company logos and colors and enables users to share data in the form of storytelling. 

Key features: 

• Easy to use reports interface for standard and self-service reports 
• Offers a variety of graph and chart formats for visualization along with scorecards to track KPI’s 

• Data visualization with advanced graphical techniques to effectively communicate complex information 
• Ability to search global data and discover new insights 
• Data column filtering to filter data based on predefined or auto modeled parameters 
• Auto suggestions on data types, schemas and hierarchies 
• Predictive analytics to foresee future challenges and trends 

• Big data services to handle voluminous, complex and siloed data sets 
• Data transformation and data modeling to extract accurate insights faster 

Limitations: 

• Not cloud-based 

2. Domo 

Domo is a cloud-based business intelligence platform that integrates data from multiple sources. Used by both small-scale and large-scale businesses, the tool provides micro level and macro level visibilities to comprehend RoI across channels and analyze region-specific best-selling products. 

Key features: 

• Attractive data visualization  coupled with social features and advanced security 

• Integrates on-premise data and external data sources in the cloud into one view 
• An open system that accepts all contributions and functionalities can be extended with developed apps and third-party integrations 
• Mobile-compatible platform with solid Business Infrastructure  

Limitations: 

• Cost prohibitive  
• Frequent issues with updates 
• Hard to extract data from cloud 

3. IBM Cognos Analytics 

IBM Cognos Analytics is an AI-fueled business intelligence platform that provides actionable insights with a thorough analysis of data. It helps trace underlying patterns with a visualized report. 

Key features: 

• Data integration from various sources 
• Custom-made reports, drag and drop facilities to develop new dashboards and reports 

• User-friendly interface to enhance distribution of reports  
• Enhanced data modeling and data cleansing to maintain data integrity 
• Built on a web-based interface, hence not hardware-specific  
• Automated modeling to validate and map connections between data points 
• AI and NLP capabilities for efficiently handling and processing of surplus data 

• Seamless creation of charts, graphs, maps, voiceovers, and repeat functions 

Limitations: 

• Less user-friendly for users having minimum technical expertise 
• Maintenance is hard as there are too many modeling tools and studios 
• License is not cost-efficient of small budget firms 

• Configuration flexibilities are limited 
• Web-based authoring environment grows slow with the growth of data size. 

4. Tableau 

Tableau offers advanced data visualization to explore and analyze data across various sources. Uses VizQL query language to convert drag-and-drop user actions into data queries.  

Key features: 

• Translate queries into visualization 
• Manage metadata, import data of all sizes and ranges 
• Enables creation of ‘no-code’ data queries 
• Real-time analysis, data blending, and collaboration of data  

• Mobile-ready, and interactive dashboards with dashboard commenting to share your thoughts with other tableau online users 
• Data notifications and automatic updates 
• Data sharing with storytelling 
• Highlight and filter data 
• Security permissions at all level 

Limitations: 

• High cost and inflexible pricing 
• Poor versioning and embedment issues 
• Inadequate functionalities for large-scale reporting, building of data tables and static layouts 

• Doesn’t provide centralized data level security 

5. QlikSense 

As a product of Qlik, QlikSense is very popular for its user interface as it is optimized for touchscreen. Makes analysis and decision making easier with snapshots and highlights 

Key features: 

• Flexible, Smart and advanced visualizations with high graphic standards for better data analyzation, mapping, and calculation  
• Drag and drop features to make data preparation and data loading easy 
• Centralized sharing, collaboration, and management to ensure easy sharing of data, data safety, monitoring, and control. Enterprise-level governance and scalability  
• Data storytelling capability to provide in-context commentary for displayed data analytics visuals 
• Mobility: Equal access to data anytime and anywhere 

• Data preparation and integration from various sources like file-based,         on-premise, cloud-based, web sources, and third-party extensive libraries.  
• Data optimization by indexing and compressing 
• Efficient dynamic recalculations on data  

Limitations: 

• Data-level security is built at the document or report level, hence no centralized security. Restricting specific users without creating a dashboard is not possible 

• Difficult to embed into existing software applications or agency portals 
• The interface is outdated and not user-friendly 
• Cost prohibitive and difficult to operate for customers with less technical expertise 
• RAM limitations for upgrading and poor performance with respect to speed 

6. SAP Business Intelligence 

SAP Business Intelligence offers a number of functionalities in one platform. Robust software that provides advanced analytics solutions like real-time BI predictive analytics, machine learning, and much more.  

Key features: 

• Reporting & Analysis, and Enterprise Business Intelligence Reporting System to identify trends and analyze the root cause of business problems or issues 

• Ad Hoc Querying and Reporting to brainstorm on specific questions or insights and actively participate in the decision-making process 
• Self-Service Data Visualization tools and Analytics applications to aggregate data, enable storytelling features and map customer journeys 
• Enterprise-wide information sharing for business users scattered within the organization to enable well-informed business decision making 
• Interactive Role-Based Dashboards that enables seamless user experience across mobile devices 
• Easy integration with Microsoft Office applications 

• Real-Time Analytics and Large-Scale Data Analysis to efficiently import large amounts of data, manipulate data and perform analysis on multiple dimensions  
• Embed Data Analytics Information into PowerPoint for data-driven decision making and forecasting 

Limitations: 

• Not much user-friendly, hence less preferred by customers who are not technology strong  

• Not cost-efficient especially for small companies 

7. Clear Analytics 

Clear analytics enables users to perform self-service analytics within an Excel-based environment. Provides secured and ad-hoc access to data to piece ad-hoc reports and publish data to Microsoft’s Power BI cloud portal.  

Key features: 

• Centralized data storage to mitigate data risks, improve security and sharing of data 
• Track and monitor data modification and report changes through spreadsheet without impacting underlying spreadsheet’s integrity 
• Customized dashboard creation and Graphical data presentation to identify KPI’s and issues 
• Predictive analysis to map underlying patterns and enable statistical forecast 

Limitations: 

• Available only in English 
• Available only through on-premise deployment, hence collaboration between companies through the cloud is not possible 
• Largely dependent on Excel and not suitable to work on mobile devices remotely