Business intelligence may have started as a consumer-based requirement, but today, it’s a must for companies who want to stay competitive and relevant. With more and more organizations becoming data driven, BI is impacting investments in technology and even changing job roles within the industry.

In the future, Business intelligence (BI) will continue to be an increasingly dominant force. However, its scope won’t be limited to organizations and enterprises alone. In fact, there is every indication that it will become more and more mainstream.

Here are 6 reasons why business intelligence will become more active in the days to come.

BI will be driven by marketing

In the past, it was the IT department that influenced all decisions related to technology. Now, the marketing department will call the shots. Using business intelligence solutions, companies will learn as much as they can about their audience. The analysis will help them customize their products and services to improve the experience of their target audience.

Social media and BI will go hand in hand

Last year, business intelligence tapped into data from social platforms to track conversations and understand what their customers had to say about them. This was evident from the partnership between IBM and Twitter – both giants in their respective fields. In the coming years, social media will become integral to the process of data collection and will shape BI solutions.

Small and medium firms will take to business intelligence

The general notion surrounding BI is that it’s only for big companies with big budgets. This may have been true a few years ago, but the landscape has changed significantly. Business intelligence solutions are now being tailored for the needs of small and medium sized companies as well, giving them the competitive edge they need.

BI solutions will impact the healthcare industry

Business intelligence in Healthcare is all set to become more prevalent moving forward. Clinics, hospitals, and labs are collecting a lot of data, which will go towards enhancing the interaction between medical facilities and the end user. With this, doctors and patients will be able to enjoy a data-driven connection.

BI Solutions will help the common man

Business intelligence will become increasingly relevant for the common man. It will help them monitor personal health, play sports, avoid traffic snarls, and track their pets’ whereabouts. Soon enough, BI will get woven into the very fabric of their lives and impact how decisions will be made.

Rise in Data Collection

Enabling the aforementioned actions is the growing ability to collect data. In the world of the Internet of Things (IoT), everything is able to connect to a platform and provide data in ways never seen before. IoT Platforms such as C2M.net and Plasma, are able to collect business critical data from all sorts of devices and ‘things’ and push into business intelligence dashboards to be analyzed. Business will become even more intelligent through this ability to collect data.

As you can see, BI will continue to remain an important tool for operational performance and business analytics. However, it will also find a way into our lives and become integral to our day-to-day function.