IT Solutions
Depend on us to get your organisation to the next level.
Sectors
BCN have a heritage of delivering outcomes through our cloud-first services and currently support over 1200 customers across specialist sectors.
About Us
Your tech partner
Artificial intelligence (AI) is very quickly reshaping business intelligence (BI), transforming how companies gather, analyse, and interpret data to inform decision-making. AI-powered business intelligence tools, such as Microsoft Intelligence and Copilot, are enhancing the accuracy of insights, accelerating analytics, and enabling a level of predictive capability that was once unimaginable.
These tools are also increasingly embedded in every facet of business, enabling organisations to operate more intelligently, predict trends with higher accuracy, and make data-driven decisions in real-time. Leading platforms are integrating machine learning models, natural language processing, and automation to democratise data access and provide executives and employees with actionable insights without needing deep technical expertise.
For example, Microsoft Power BI now incorporates AI capabilities through Microsoft Azure, offering tools like anomaly detection, sentiment analysis, and even predictive modelling. This enables companies to predict customer behaviour, identify potential issues in supply chains, and dynamically adjust marketing campaigns in response to customer feedback.
Unlike traditional BI, AI for Business Intelligence streamlines data processing, making it faster and easier to detect trends and patterns for anyone in a company, no matter their technical expertise. AI-powered technology makes it possible to get deeper insights and more precise predictions, enabling businesses to stay one step ahead of the competition.
AI can not only translate data into actionable insights, but it can also understand past events, predict future trends, and provide recommendations. In other words, this technology provides a strategic roadmap for better decision-making for anyone and at any time. By turning raw data into actionable insights, companies can rely on generative AI to enhance their efficiency, avoid risks, and increase their profit margins, while employees can act on the insights delivered to them and make better-informed decisions. According to a study by McKinsey, AI could handle routine tasks currently occupying 60-70% of employees’ time, giving them time back to focus on more strategic activities.
Traditionally, marketers and other specialists without a technical background had to rely heavily on data analysts for research and analysis, as navigating complex data sets and tools was out of their scope. However, AI is changing the way non-technical users can access and analyse information from data.
For example, Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies in AI introduce the capability of querying in plain English, allowing a marketing manager, sales leader, or any other business user to type in a question and receive relevant data insights.
This approach significantly reduces the dependency on specialised data teams and allows for quicker, more autonomous decision-making across the board. AI is making data less about numbers and more about insightful stories, enhancing the overall efficiency and strategic capability of the organisation.
The ability of AI to automate processes with minimal human intervention is an important economic benefit. Much of the work in BI involves data preparation, which can be quite repetitive. AI can effectively automate both data preparation and data analysis, enabling business users to focus on strategic tasks that require their experience and business knowledge. This improves overall business productivity and strategic performance.
AI’s excellent capabilities of pattern recognition mean it can sift through historical data to identify trends that humans might overlook. This enables more accurate predictions about market movements, customer behaviour, and inventory requirements. For instance, AI can analyse seasonal buying patterns to forecast demand for products, enabling companies to optimise their inventory levels and reduce waste.
Companies can respond to market changes much faster than before, as AI systems can process and analyse data at a greater speed. AI-powered BI tools can monitor real-time data streams from various sources, alerting decision-makers to significant events that could affect their business, allowing for swift strategic adjustments.
Until now, real-time data analysis has focused on reliably moving data through storage, pipelines, and analytics tools. Because these systems can be fragile, analyses are often kept simple. AI changes this by handling data more efficiently, allowing for more advanced and effective real-time insights.
Read more about Power BI Financial Reporting here, where you can integrate your financial data from ERP, banking, and accounting systems into a Power BI dashboard for real-time insights into revenue, expenses, cash flow, and overall financial performance.
AI helps maintain consistency in decision-making processes. Humans can be prone to influences by biases or fluctuating levels of performance, but AI is not affected by these factors. AI systems can provide steady, reliable analysis and recommendations based on the data they are fed.
Clean, comprehensive, and well-structured data is key to the accuracy of AI analysis. Dashboards can display data in a manner that is up for interpretation. However, AI processes the data to deliver a clear answer, ensuring consistent results no matter who is querying the data or how many times.
Find out more about HR Dashboards and Power BI here, and how AI can enhance HR analytics by consolidating data from diverse sources and provide a comprehensive view of HR metrics with Microsoft Power BI. Get a Free Data Assessment with our experts to discover how to streamline workflows, enhance decision-making, and unlock the power of data-driven insights.
AI can significantly reduce human error. Even the most diligent and experienced professionals can make mistakes, but AI systems that are properly designed and implemented operate with a high degree of precision.
The use of AI in BI provides companies with a competitive advantage. The insights gained from AI analytics enable businesses to make smarter investments, improve their operations, and offer better customer experiences than their competitors.
Establishing a strategy is vital to integrate AI in your BI, to maximise the benefits of the merging of these new technologies. Here are some considerations when integrating AI with existing BI practices:
Since Power BI is a powerful tool for real-time business intelligence reporting, businesses need to ensure their Power BI estate is managed effectively, and that can be done through BCN’s Power BI Governance Service. It covers three core areas: Risk Assessment, Disaster Recovery, and Data Compliance. Our experts will audit your Power BI estate and provide best practice guidance on data management to ensure your data is secure and provides the insights you need.
Leveraging our profound expertise across the Microsoft ecosystem, as a trusted Microsoft Partner, we empower businesses to realise the full advantages of Copilot, strategically positioning them for sustained growth and success within this increasingly AI-centric landscape. We provide comprehensive support to ensure organisations like yours can thoroughly harness the transformative potential of AI.
We deliver end-to-end support, with accurate data structuring and implementation of robust security protocols, enabling a seamless and effective integration of AI. We can deploy Copilot within your operational framework smoothly. Additionally, we can extend its capabilities through the wider Microsoft ecosystem and the Power Platform, developing bespoke solutions precisely tailored to your unique business requirements.
As your business needs evolve, so do our AI solutions, which means we can adapt quickly to meet the specific challenges inherent in your sector. This adaptability ensures you derive maximum benefit from Copilot and other Microsoft AI resources. As with any new technology, the establishment of best practices, robust security measures, and effective governance, alongside proactive management of cultural change, is vital for achieving success. We are here to guide your organisation through AI integration and to facilitate the realisation of tangible, measurable return on investment.
With a team comprising over 400 skilled professionals and a portfolio of over 1,600 clients, our knowledge and extensive experience can expertly guide your business through each stage of the AI for business intelligence adoption journey.
Initiate your AI transformation today with our Copilot Readiness Assessment and let us help you harness the power of Copilot and maintain a leading edge in a rapidly transforming digital environment.
