The quote, “Data is more valuable than oil”, could not be more prevalent. According to Datapods, the data you generate in a year is worth about $263 (£202). Multiply that by the number of users online (~5.35 billion) and you have a total value of £1.87 trillion. That’s how much data is worth now. 

So, it is no wonder that companies are leveraging data analytics to drive smarter decisions and gain a competitive edge. At Chesamel, we understand the transformative power of data. Our expertise in Business Intelligence (BI) and Data Analytics helps businesses unlock actionable insights, optimise performance, and uncover growth opportunities. 

After 16 years of consulting for leading dynamic organisations like Google and eBay, we often hear the same question: “Which BI & data analytics tools or technologies should we be using?” 

To save you the hassle of searching for answers, we have compiled the best data analytics tools and technologies transforming business operations in 2024. These innovations will help you unlock actionable insights, optimise performance, and stay ahead in the market.

Cloud-Based Analytics Platforms

Amazon Redshift

• What it does: Amazon Redshift is a fully managed data warehouse service in the cloud. It enables fast querying and analytics on structured and semi-structured data.
• Benefits for businesses: It offers high performance, scalability, and ease of use at a lower cost compared to traditional on-premises solutions. Redshift Spectrum allows querying of data directly in Amazon S3 without the need for ETL processes.
• How it innovates business operations: Redshift’s ML integration enables businesses to build and deploy machine learning models directly within the data warehouse, enhancing predictive analytics capabilities.

Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

• What it does: Azure Synapse Analytics is an integrated analytics service that combines big data and data warehousing. It allows querying of data on your terms, using serverless on-demand or provisioned resources.
• Benefits for businesses: It provides end-to-end analytics solutions with deep integration with other Azure services, simplifying data management and reducing time to insight.
• How it innovates business operations: Synapse’s ability to unify data management, data integration, and data analytics in a single platform streamlines operations and improves data accessibility.

Google BigQuery

• What it does: Google BigQuery is a serverless, highly scalable, and cost-effective multi-cloud data warehouse designed for business agility.
• Benefits for businesses: It allows companies to analyse large datasets quickly and efficiently using SQL, without needing to manage infrastructure. Its integration with Google Cloud services enhances data processing and collaboration.
• How it innovates business operations: BigQuery’s ability to perform real-time analytics on streaming data helps businesses make informed decisions faster.

Chesamel Case Study: BigQuery for Financial Services

A financial services company faced challenges with consolidating and analysing data stored in disparate systems, including legacy databases and cloud-based platforms. The primary goal was to provide real-time data for informed decision-making and business growth.

Methodology:

We implemented Google BigQuery for real-time data visualisation and analysis. This involved setting up a centralised data hub and creating customised dashboards and reports to provide comprehensive insights.

Impact:

The implementation enabled the company to identify previously hidden trends, patterns, and anomalies, significantly improving decision-making and overall business performance. As a result, the company reported a 43% return on investment (ROI) from the enhanced data analysis capabilities.

If you would like to learn more about how our Business Intelligence and Data Analytics could help your business, get in touch.

AI and Machine Learning Integration

TensorFlow

• What it does: TensorFlow is an open-source machine learning framework developed by Google. It is widely used for building and deploying machine learning models.
• Benefits for businesses: TensorFlow offers flexibility and scalability, enabling companies to develop custom machine learning solutions tailored to their specific needs. It supports various data types and integrates well with other tools.
• How it innovates business operations: TensorFlow’s capabilities in deep learning and neural networks allow businesses to leverage advanced analytics for predictive maintenance, customer insights, and more.

PyTorch

• What it does: PyTorch is an open-source machine learning library developed by Facebook’s AI Research lab. It is known for its ease of use and flexibility.
• Benefits for businesses: PyTorch’s dynamic computation graph and extensive library support make it ideal for research and production. Its strong community support accelerates development and troubleshooting.
• How it innovates business operations: PyTorch’s integration with cloud services and deployment tools helps businesses implement AI solutions efficiently, enhancing operational efficiency and innovation.

IBM Watson

• What it does: IBM Watson is an AI platform that uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyse and interpret large amounts of unstructured data.
• Benefits for businesses: Watson’s capabilities in cognitive computing help businesses automate complex processes, improve decision-making, and enhance customer experiences.
• How it innovates business operations: IBM Watson’s pre-trained models and customisable solutions enable businesses to quickly deploy AI-driven applications, driving innovation and efficiency in various operational areas.

Real-Time Analytics

Apache Kafka

• What it does: Apache Kafka is an open-source stream-processing platform designed to handle real-time data feeds. It enables the building of real-time data pipelines and streaming applications.
• Benefits for businesses: Kafka provides high throughput, low latency, and fault tolerance, making it suitable for processing massive streams of data in real-time.
• How it innovates business operations: Kafka’s ability to integrate with various data sources and sinks allows businesses to perform real-time analytics, monitor systems in real-time, and improve responsiveness to events.

Apache Flink

• What it does: Apache Flink is a stream-processing framework that performs stateful computations over data streams. It is designed for high-throughput, low-latency data processing.
• Benefits for businesses: Flink supports event-driven applications and allows for complex event processing, making it ideal for scenarios requiring immediate insights and actions.
• How it innovates business operations: Flink’s robust stream processing capabilities enable businesses to detect patterns, anomalies, and trends in real-time, improving operational efficiency and decision-making.

Microsoft Power BI

• What it does: Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics service that provides interactive visualisations and business intelligence capabilities with an interface simple enough for end users to create their own reports and dashboards.
• Benefits for businesses: Power BI integrates seamlessly with various data sources and provides real-time data access and analysis. Its user-friendly interface democratises data analytics across the organisation.
• How it innovates business operations: Power BI’s real-time data dashboards and reports enable businesses to monitor key performance indicators and respond swiftly to changes in their environment.

These tools and technologies are shaping the future of business operations by providing powerful, scalable, and efficient solutions for data analytics. Implementing these tools can help businesses unlock valuable insights, optimise performance, and maintain a competitive edge in the market.

Conclusion

The largest companies in the world invest heavily in data analytics. In fact, 70% of organisations believe that data visualisation is vital to their success. 

Data analytics offers priceless insights into your company’s operations and consumer behaviour. It assists in promoting products, streamlining operations, executing strategy, improving security, raising brand recognition, and more. But knowing where to focus your BI budget can be tough. That’s why we compiled this comprehensive list.

At Chesamel, we help you use data to get a 360-degree view of your business to transform efficiency and decision-making. Let us help you define data challenges and needs within your business and plan the ideal data solution to realise hidden opportunities while flagging underlying threats before they occur.

Get in touch today to learn more about how our Business Intelligence and Data Analytics could help your business.