The Future of Business Intelligence in 2017: How Visual Studio is Revolutionizing the Industry
For as long as there have been businesses, there has been a need for business intelligence (BI). BI is defined as the use of technologies, workflows, and applications to analyze, distill, and interpret data into actionable insights that can help businesses make better decisions. In the past, BI has relied heavily on IT professionals and a business’s data analysts to laboredly collect data and create reports. But with the advent of self-service BI, which puts more control in the hands of end-users, the landscape is changing.
This year, the future of BI is looking brighter than ever, with one platform, in particular, garnering a lot of attention: Visual Studio. Here’s how Visual Studio is revolutionizing the business intelligence industry in 2017 and beyond.
Enhanced Self-Service BI Capabilities
Early BI applications required extensive IT support and expertise, and reports would take weeks to generate. As self-service business intelligence tools have continued to develop, however, they have put more control in the end-users’ hands. Visual Studio takes this one step further, providing a self-service BI platform that is extensible, flexible, and available to developers with varying levels of expertise. This means that anyone can use it, from beginners to seasoned veterans, to generate insightful reports and dashboards that can be used to inform business decisions and drive results.
Integration with other Microsoft Tools
One of the benefits of Visual Studio, and one of the reasons why it is so popular among BI professionals, is its tight integration with other Microsoft tools. With Microsoft Power BI, users can easily create reports and dashboards that incorporate data from a variety of sources, and can use Visual Studio to develop applications that integrate with other Microsoft tools such as Excel, SharePoint, and SQL Server Analysis Services, to name just a few. This integration makes it a powerful tool for developing and sharing BI applications across organizations.
Flexibility and Agility
Visual Studio is also known for its flexibility, which is key in a rapidly changing business environment where companies need to be able to pivot and adapt quickly. Developers can create and deploy custom solutions with ease, meaning organizations can adjust their BI applications as their needs and goals evolve. This agility makes Visual Studio a popular choice for companies of all sizes, from small businesses looking to get started with BI to large enterprises with complex data needs.
Effective Data Visualization
One of the most important components of effective BI is data visualization, which allows users to more easily digest and comprehend information. Visual Studio is known for its powerful data visualization capabilities, with a range of charts, graphs, and other presentation tools that enable users to transform raw data into compelling visualizations that tell a story. This capability is key in helping end-users make sense of complex data sets and gain valuable insights.
Conclusion
As the future of business intelligence continues to evolve, tools like Visual Studio will play an increasingly important role in enabling organizations to stay competitive. With its self-service capabilities, integration with other Microsoft tools, flexibility, and powerful data visualization capabilities, Visual Studio is changing the face of business intelligence in 2017 and beyond. As organizations continue to seek new and innovative ways to make data-driven decisions, Visual Studio will be one of the most important tools in their arsenal.
