FEATURE: BUSINESS ANALYTICS
comprehensive survey of BI and analytics
end-users.
Key findings from the report included that:
• 52% of respondents chose SAP Analytics
Cloud because of the high-innovation
capabilities of SAP
• 87% rate the SAP Analytics Cloud price-
performance ratio as good or excellent
• 96% would recommend SAP
Analytics Cloud
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The power of SAP Analytics Cloud is that
it is embedded into SAP applications
through its integration services, giving it
direct access to the SAP S/4HANA platform
and its assorted business and metadata.
By combining BI, planning and predictive
analytics in one integrated cloud-based
solution, businesses are bought closer to
the ideals of the Intelligent Enterprise.
Extensions, such as the SAP Digital
Boardroom, enables business leaders to run
scenarios across the entire management
lifecycle – from strategy and budget to
forecasts and financial close – with accurate
insights and intelligence delivered to every
employee that needs it.
Analytics are the window into the Intelligent
Enterprise. It’s a powerful tool that provides
a foundation for insightful action that
delivers value across the enterprise. No
organisation can afford to operate without
it. And with the accessibility of SAP Analytics
Cloud, no enterprise has to. n
Data analytics is fuelling
business practices
Yolanda Smit, Regional
(Gauteng) Director at PBT
Group, says becoming
data-driven is a key
priority for organisations
and has fast become ‘the
new oil’ in business. Done correctly, a data analytics capability
can enable the business to provide a
‘refined’ perspective on what is happening
in the business, providing answers to
questions like: ‘what’s my customers’
preferences, behaviour or spend appetite?’;
‘what are the market trends?’; ‘where can
the business optimise expenditure or create
process efficiencies?’
U These insights enable better informed
business strategy formulation.
ndoubtedly, businesses that have
already invested in data analytics
have begun to reap the benefits,
especially those wanting to make far more
accurate forecasts and examine ways to
become more customer-centric.
However, there are still many businesses who
are not investing in data analytics. Perhaps
this is a result of a lack of understanding
around the significant business value data
analytics offers. Let’s explore this further.
A ‘refined’ perspective
Successful IT projects and the overall
business strategy require clear goals
which are typically concluded after an
intentional or implicit review of information.
Data analytics is no exception. Success in
establishing a data analytics capability
in the organisation requires clear goals.
However, a business that has successfully
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Empowering competitive edge
Yolanda Smit, Regional (Gauteng) Director
at PBT Group
established its data analytics capability,
can, in turn start fuelling and enabling
the process of setting its overall business
strategic objectives and aligning IT
initiative goals.
As a result, when conducting an analysis, data
teams must seek to discover useful information
about customers in order to support decision-
making on projects, to improve productivity,
and a host of other outcomes.
Having an abundance of data available
doesn’t mean much if it is not leveraged
to the benefit of the business. However, if
analytics is invested in, and intentionally
managed for data accuracy and reliability,
then a multitude of possibilities can unfold
for the enterprise.
In fact, some of the unexpected benefits of
data analytics include long-term benefit of
short-term losses. This is huge – as it enables
the organisation to quickly review their
current offerings, and data, and understand
how to adapt the customer experience and
change or tweak their product or service
offerings based on real needs and wants
(based on current data and information) –
to truly become agile in their competitive
response to the market.
www.intelligentcio.com