Business Intelligence

BTECHCS18612

Unit 02: Elements of Business

Intelligence

by Prof. Divya Munot

Business Intelligence Concepts
Business Intelligence Components
Data Warehousing Embedded Ad-hoc Reporting Interactive
Analytics Dashboards and
A data warehouse The Business Intelligence
Reports
aggregates and Embedded Analytics are infrastructure uses
consolidates transactional representations of "Business Intelligence and This is the business-
data, typically used for aggregated data that can Reporting Tools (BIRT)" to specific view onto the data
decision-making and data be interacted with by the render charts, providing warehouse. Interactive
mining. Business-specific user to construct an open-source and low- dashboards provide
data warehouses are alternative views or sub- cost option for agencies graphically intuitive
available from the groupings of the data. that do not want an displays of information,
application, such as the elaborate business including dials, gauges,
Income Support data intelligence offering. and traffic lights.
warehouse.
Key Elements of a Successful BI Dashboard
Business intelligence dashboards have emerged as indispensable tools for modern enterprises. However, not all
dashboards are created equal. To extract meaningful insights that drive decision-making, it’s imperative to understand the
key components of an effective business intelligence dashboard.

Data Integration and ETL Processes

Its prowess in data integration is the crux of a formidable business intelligence dashboard. Diverse data sources, from
CRM systems like Salesforce to ERP platforms like Oracle or SAP, inundate businesses daily. Integrating this plethora of
data efficiently demands meticulous ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes.
Initially, data is extracted from its originating source. During the transformation stage, inconsistencies are ironed out,
redundancies are eliminated, and formats are standardized. Finally, this refined data is loaded into a centralized data
warehouse. This systematic approach ensures that the data is and primed for analysis.
Interactive Visualization and Customization

Raw data, with its sheer volume and complexity, can confound even seasoned analysts. Enter BI dashboards, which act
as translators, converting this data deluge into comprehensible visualizations, from intricate graphs to vibrant heat
maps.
But visualization isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Every business has unique needs, and dashboards must reflect that.
Hence, customization becomes pivotal. Modern BI tools offer extensive personalization features, enabling users to
modify views, focus on specific KPIs, and interact with data, thereby enhancing exploration and understanding.

Real-time Analytics and Reporting

The business landscape is ever-evolving, and staying updated is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. A cutting-edge BI
dashboard doesn’t just display data; it keeps it live. With real-time analytics, businesses witness data evolution as events
unfold.
Be it a sudden sales spike or an unforeseen supply chain disruption; real-time insights equip decision-makers to act
promptly. Complementing this is the dashboard’s reporting capability. Dynamic, in-depth reports can be generated on-
demand, arming stakeholders with the latest insights tailored to their needs.
Advanced Security Protocols

In the digital age, data is an invaluable asset—and a prime target. Safeguarding this treasure trove is paramount.
Business intelligence dashboards, as the custodians of a vast amount of sensitive information, must be fortified with
state-of-the-art security measures.
This encompasses SSL encryption, ensuring data transit remains confidential; two-factor authentication, adding an extra
layer of access security; and role-based access controls, ensuring data is accessed only by authorized personnel. Such
multifaceted security protocols ensure that while data is easily accessible for legitimate users, it remains an
impregnable fortress against malicious entities.

Seamless Integration with Modern IT Stack

Be it interfacing with a legacy system or syncing with cutting-edge cloud solutions, a BI dashboard’s true mettle is tested
by how effortlessly it melds with the broader tech ecosystem. This cohesion ensures uninterrupted data flow, enhances
interoperability, and augments overall business process efficiency.
Solutions Business Query and Reporting
Query and reporting solutions are part of a comprehensive business intelligence approach. When you have questions,
these solutions provide the answers.
Query and reporting solutions have increasingly added:
visualization approaches to make data patterns stand out more starkly,
self-service capabilities so users can get what the answers they need without invoving IT,
support for the ability to quickly share insights and reports with other users,
capabilities to query on an ad hoc basis, and real time capabilities to provide actionable information to users when it
can make a difference.
Reports
Decision makers are in need of information to make accurate and timely decisions. Information is essentially the
contextualization of data.

Information is often provided in the form of a written report (digital or on paper), although it can also be provided orally.

Simply put, a report is any communication artifact prepared with the specific intention of conveying information in a
presentable form to whoever needs it, whenever and wherever they may need it.

It is usually a document that contains information (usually driven from data and personal experiences) organized in a
narrative, graphic, and/or tabular form, prepared periodically (recurring) or on an as-required (ad hoc ) basis, referring to
specific time periods, events, occurrences, or subjects.
Report Categories
Metric Management Dashboard-Type Reports Balanced Scorecard-Type
Reports Dashboards are used to present a
Reports
In many organizations, business range of different performance This is a method developed by
performance is managed through indicators on one page. Kaplan and Norton that attempts
outcome-oriented metrics. to present an integrated view of
Dashboard vendors would provide
success in an organization.
For external groups, these are a set of predefined reports with
service-level agreements (SLAs). static elements and fixed structure, In addition to financial
but also allow for customization of performance, balanced scorecard-
For internal management, they are
the dashboard widgets, views, and type reports also include customer,
key performance indicators (KPIs).
set targets for various metrics. business process, and learning and
Typically, there are enterprise-wide growth perspectives.
It’s common to have color-coded
agreed targets to be tracked over a
visualizations to draw
period of time.
management attention to
particular areas.
Metric Management Report

Data

Report
Dashboard-Type Report

ZoomCharts
Power BI Dashboards - Free Examples | ZoomCharts
Browse professionally designed Power BI Dashboard Examples and download
free .pbix files that are ready to use. Get inspiration from report use cases!
Balanced Scorecard-Type Report

The Balanced Scorecard—Measures that Drive Performance

Activity

Develop a Balanced Scorecard by identifying key perspectives, formulating objectives, and creating corresponding KPIs (Key
Performance Indicators) for a fictional or real organization.

Four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard:

Financial: How does the organization create value for shareholders?

Customer: How does the organization meet customer needs?
Internal Processes: Which processes are critical to delivering value?
Learning & Growth: How does the organization innovate and improve?

Example:

Perspective: Customer
Objective: Improve customer satisfaction.
KPI: Increase Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 10% within 6 months.
BI Reporting
BI Reporting involves the process of collecting, analyzing, and presenting business data in a structured and understandable
format.

It serves as a foundation for making informed business decisions by transforming raw data into meaningful insights.

This reporting is essential for tracking performance, identifying trends, and making strategic decisions across various
business functions.
The Goal of BI Data Reporting
If the flowchart of business intelligence is to see, understand and act upon data, reporting’s goal is the first–to enable end-
users to see data so that they can analyze it and make it understandable through analysis.

Reporting deals with data, while analysis is what turns the data into information.

For example, a sales report may include rows representing sales reps and columns showing orders taken, units sold of each
major product line, revenue-dollars generated, percentage of target achieved, etc
How BI Reporting Works
BI Reporting works by aggregating data from various sources, processing it through analytical models, and then presenting
the findings in a user-friendly format. The process typically involves several stages:

1 Data Collection
Gathering data from different sources such as databases, cloud services, or external APIs.

2 Data Integration
Combining data from multiple sources to create a unified dataset.

3 Data Analysis
Applying statistical and analytical methods to uncover trends and insights.

4 Report Generation
Creating reports, dashboards, or visualizations that present the analyzed data in a clear and actionable
format.
BI Reporting Best Practices
Identify your audience and their needs. Define in advance of any project or program all BI reporting requirements for
different stakeholders. Use KPI examples to help guide teams in selecting the most impactful KPIs.
Prep your data. Turn raw data into clean, business ready information via data replication, ingestion and transformation
to combine different types of data into standardized formats stored in a repository such as a data lake or data
warehouse.
Be flexible and scalable. Make sure you have a flexible deployment and scalable multi-cloud architecture so that users
can access and share data insights between on-premise and cloud deployments while keeping governance and trust
standards high.
Govern your data. Traditional BI tools require users to go through the IT team to set up permissions. Modern BI tools
provide a governed data catalog which profiles and documents every data source and defines who can take which
actions on which data.
Tell your data story. Learn how to produce compelling visualizations and design dashboards so you can highlight
important information and use visual cues to tell your data story in an engaging way.
Iterate and evolve. Be willing to adapt your BI reporting process to advances in technology and changes in business
needs.
Cultivate data literacy. Leverage data literacy training and tools to help your organization become more data-driven.
Benefits of BI Reporting
Improved Decision-Making: Provides data-driven insights that enable more accurate and timely business decisions.
Enhanced Efficiency: Automates the data collection and reporting process, saving time and reducing manual errors.
Increased Transparency: Offers visibility into all aspects of the business, allowing stakeholders to monitor
performance and identify issues.
Better Strategic Planning: Helps organizations identify trends and patterns that inform long-term strategies and
planning.
Competitive Advantage: Enables businesses to stay ahead of the competition by making informed, strategic decisions
based on up-to-date data.
Benefits of BI Reporting
BI Reporting Examples
1. Sales Performance Reports: Analyzing sales data to identify top-performing products, regions, or sales teams.
2. Customer Insights: Using customer data to understand buying patterns, preferences, and behavior for targeted
marketing.
3. Financial Reporting: Tracking revenue, expenses, and profitability to ensure financial health and compliance.
4. Operational Efficiency: Monitoring production processes, supply chain logistics, and inventory levels to optimize
operations.
5. Human Resources: Analyzing employee performance, turnover rates, and recruitment metrics to improve workforce
management.
Data and Information Visualization
Data visualization (or more appropriately, information visualization) has been defined as the use of visual
representations to explore, make sense of, and communicate data.

Although the name that is commonly used is data visualization, usually what is meant by this is information visualization.
Since information is the aggregation, summarizations, and contextualization of data (raw facts), what is portrayed in
visualizations is the information and not the data.
Different Types of Graphs and Charts
Line Chart / Line Graph

A line chart (aka line plot, line graph) uses points connected by line segments from left to right to demonstrate changes in
value. The horizontal axis depicts a continuous progression, often that of time, while the vertical axis reports values for a
metric of interest across that progression.
Bar Chart

A bar chart (aka bar graph, column chart) plots numeric values for levels of a categorical feature as bars. Levels are plotted
on one chart axis, and values are plotted on the other axis. Each categorical value claims one bar, and the length of each
bar corresponds to the bar’s value. Bars are plotted on a common baseline to allow for easy comparison of values.
Pie Chart

A pie chart shows how a total amount is divided between levels of a categorical variable as a circle divided into radial slices.
Each categorical value corresponds with a single slice of the circle, and the size of each slice (both in area and arc length)
indicates what proportion of the whole each category level takes.
Scatter Plot

A scatter plot (aka scatter chart, scatter graph) uses dots to represent values for two different numeric variables. The
position of each dot on the horizontal and vertical axis indicates values for an individual data point. Scatter plots are used
to observe relationships between variables.
Bubble chart

A bubble chart (aka bubble plot) is an extension of the scatter plot used to look at relationships between three numeric
variables. Each dot in a bubble chart corresponds with a single data point, and the variables’ values for each point are
indicated by horizontal position, vertical position, and dot size.
Histogram

A histogram is a chart that plots the distribution of a numeric variable’s values as a series of bars. Each bar typically covers a
range of numeric values called a bin or class; a bar’s height indicates the frequency of data points with a value within the
corresponding bin.
Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart is a visual bar chart used to plan and track a project's progress. It acts as a timeline that shows the list of tasks
involved, their start and end dates, milestones, dependencies between tasks, and assignees.
Pert Chart

PERT charts are developed primarily to simplify the planning and scheduling of large and complex projects. A PERT chart
shows precedence relationships among the project activities/tasks. It is composed of nodes (represented as circles or
rectangles) and edges (represented with directed arrows). Based on the selected PERT chart convention, either nodes or the
edges maybe used to represent the project activities/tasks (activity-on-node versus activity-on-arrow representation
schema).
Geographic Map

When the data set includes any kind of location data (e.g., physical addresses, postal codes, state names or abbreviations,
country names, latitude/longitude, or some type of custom geographic encoding), it is better and more informative to see
the data on a map. Maps usually are used in conjunction with other charts and graphs, as opposed to by themselves.
Bullet

Bullet graphs are often used to show progress toward a goal. It is a variation of a bar chart. Bullet graphs compare a
primary measure (e.g., year-to-date revenue) to one or more other measures (e.g., annual revenue target) and present this
in the context of defined performance metrics (e.g., sales quota).
Heat Map

A heatmap depicts values for a main variable of interest across two axis variables as a grid of colored squares. The axis
variables are divided into ranges like a bar chart or histogram, and each cell’s color indicates the value of the main variable
in the corresponding cell range.
Highlight Table

Highlight tables are intended to take heat maps one step further. In addition to showing how data intersects by using color,
highlight tables add a number on top to provide additional detail. That is, it is a two-dimensional table with cells populated
with numerical values and gradients of colors. For instance, one can show sales representative performance by product
type and by sales volume.
Heat Map vs Highlight Map

Tableau
What are Heatmaps and Highlight Tables? | Tableau
Learn how to read and use Highlight Tables & Heatmaps, two visualization tools that use color and size to encode text tables for
easier consumption.
Tree Map

The treemap functions as a visualization composed of nested rectangles. These rectangles represent certain categories
within a selected dimension and are ordered in a hierarchy, or “tree.” Quantities and patterns can be compared and
displayed in a limited chart space. Treemaps represent part to whole relationships.
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms
Dashboards
Dashboards
Dashboards provide visual displays of important information that is consolidated and arranged on a single screen so that
information can be digested at a single glance and easily drilled in and further explored.

Dashboards are a collection of graphs, charts, or other visual representations that are used to monitor the levels of the
selected KPIs.
The dashboard is used for monitoring operational activities and is not necessarily directly linked with the strategic
directions of a company.
Moreover, the dashboard usually provides instant review of results and is constantly updated.
Data available in dashboards is used to provide a foundation for better decision making and more efficient day-to-day
management of teams, resources, and expenses.
For most organizations, dashboards present a high-level idea of an organization’s overall performance.
Dashboards are made up of multiple report types, allowing users to easily compare and contrast different reports or
access diverse datasets within one business intelligence environment.
BI dashboard features and components
Connections to data sources. Depending on the data that users need to see, BI dashboards can be connected to data
warehouses, data marts and data lakes -- the most common analytics data stores -- or to operational systems, industrial
equipment and external data feeds for more up-to-date information.
Data visualizations. Dashboards can be configured with various types of data visualizations to show different
performance metrics, statistics and other information. Supported visualizations range from basic line and bar charts to
more elaborate graphics, such as bubble charts, heat maps and scatter plots.
Data tables. BI dashboards may also incorporate tables of data that provide an at-a-glance look at relevant data values.
The tabular data often includes color coding or other graphical treatments to highlight specific information -- for
example, to flag a decline in sales or financial losses.
Drill-down capabilities. This feature enables users to get more information or look at and analyze detailed data by
clicking on a data visualization. Doing so takes them to additional visualizations or data tables, often arranged in a
hierarchical fashion so people can drill down multiple levels if they want to.
Data filters. Another interactive feature, filters enable users to customize date and time ranges, geographic settings
and other parameters in data visualizations to get a more focused view of the information being presented.
Text boxes and tooltips. Dashboards often include standalone text boxes and pop-up information tooltips that explain
the data being visualized or provide additional information and context about the analytics results.
 samples.boldbi.com

Bold BI® Embedded Demos & Tutorials

Explore Bold BI® Embedded Designer and Viewer through various use case
scenario demos, example applications, and tutorial samples.
BI dashboard design best practices
BI Dashboard poor design choices
Too many widgets (about 30 of them) create visual clutter
Basic questions such as “what is the total amount of sales?” take much more than 5 seconds to answer
No organizing principle behind the visual layout — widgets seem to be strewn randomly
Tables in the bottom add very little in the way of insights
Too much clutter
Too many colors
Lack of Content
Bad Data-to-Visualization Pairing
Unnecessary Variety
Just Plain Ugly
BI dashboard design best practices
Makes the complex simple: we have lots of information, lots of data that changes all the time and different analytical
needs and questions. We want to take all this complexity and make it simple.
Tells a clear story: we want to be able to connect data to its context in the business and to answer the viewer’s
questions. This is where the visual layout of a dashboard plays a crucial role.
Expresses the meaning of the data: the chosen data visualizations need to correctly represent the data and the
information you want to extract from it.
Reveals details as needed: we want each viewer to have access to the data they need — no less but also no more.
Some users might need to be able to see a more granular view of the data — others could suffice with an overview.
Good dashboard design principles
1. The 5 Second Rule

Your dashboard should provide the relevant information in about 5 seconds.

Your dashboard should be able to answer your most frequently asked business questions at a glance. This means that if
you’re scanning the information for minutes, this could indicate a problem with your dashboard’s visual layout.

2. Logical Layout: the Inverted Pyramid

Display the most significant insights on the top part of the

dashboard, trends in the middle, and granular details in the
bottom.
3. Minimalism: Less Is More

Each dashboard should contain no more than 5-9 visualizations.

You can avoid visual clutter by using filters and hierarchies or simply by breaking your dashboard into two or more
separate dashboards.

4. Choosing the Right Data Visualization

Select the appropriate type of data visualization according to its purpose.

Before choosing a visualization, consider which type of information you are trying to relay:

Relationship: connection between two or more variables

Comparison: compare two or more variables side by side
Composition: breaking data into separate components
Distribution: range and grouping of values within data
Benefits of BI Dashboards
Limitations of BI Dashboards
Flashy or cluttered design, with users attempting to incorporate too much information without understanding
constraints or considering their specific needs from the range of different measurables detailed data analyses provides.
Difficulty in attaching supporting data to a dashboard and the failure of data to refresh automatically means that
both these tasks must be done manually.
Compatibility and interfacing issues. The technology used in the development of BI dashboards differs from other
software solutions already employed in organisations and can be initially difficult to understand.
Dashboard reporting needs meaningful metrics. A dashboard must measure something meaningful. This requires an
understanding of the right metrics to select. Broad metrics such as “net income” won’t provide much insight.
Scorecards
Scorecards offer organizations a snapshot of their current performance when compared to their goals.

They are useful for organizations which need to manage performance and make strategic decisions better based on the
distance between current performance and the goal.

In essence, companies use scorecards to align their strategies with the objectives by tracking important metrics related to
customer information, projected growth, financial data, and business activities.

This framework focuses more on providing a static overview of the organization at a specific moment, which means it isn’t
really suitable for automatic analyses, real-time updates, or showcasing more granular details.

Scorecards are generally periodic measures, usually updated at set intervals such as weekly or monthly.
Scorecards
To better understand just how beneficial scorecards can be, here is a brief list of some of the main reasons why companies
incorporate them:

They can help you understand whether you are producing the right products, see how profitable they are, and check if
they are in line with the current trends.
They showcase which call center scripts are functioning properly and whether there is any room for improvement in
customer experience.
They analyze the current safety standards and help you figure out ways to make the manufacturing environment more
profitable.
Traditional Scorecards
Traditional scorecards are used for acquiring a birds-eye overview of the performance of each department, team, and
individual within the company.

This type of scorecard is extremely comprehensible, but it’s dependent on the set objective.

Some of the main benefits of traditional scorecards are:

Time period Grading system Comparison

The main component of a The grading system determines Get comparison insights between
traditional scorecard is the set time your company’s performance individuals, teams, departments,
period. You will gain insight into levels. set goals, or historical goals.
the activities that took place in a
specific time period and then
analyze them.
Balanced Scorecards
Balanced scorecards provide you with insightful snapshots of your company’s activities, finances, and overall operations.

Some of the most notable characteristics of balanced scorecards are that they include the most valuable KPIs, have precise
goals, and display target values numerically to make the comparison process easier.
Benefits of Balanced Scorecards
Better strategic planning – Creating a strategy and figuring out the most likely outcomes is much easier with balanced
scorecards.
Data-based management decisions – Using balanced scorecards usually forces companies to outline the crucial metrics
for their strategic objectives. This makes management consider the data that really matters and make more informed
decisions based on that.
Robust performance reporting – Balanced scorecards improve information transparency both internally and externally,
which ultimately leads to more efficient KPI management and advanced performance reporting.
Tracking progress towards business objectives – Scorecards are the easiest way to monitor how your company is
progressing towards the set business goals.
Setting targets for employees – You can use balanced scorecards to manage employee performance by their outputs and
results.
Minimize the number of meetings – If your whole company has access to the same scorecards, then you won’t have to
waste time organizing any unnecessary meetings.
Determine the most profitable marketing campaigns – You can check out which marketing channels and campaigns
generate the most profit.
Quickly identify important trends – Scorecards allow you to stay up-to-date with all the latest trends.
Scorecard Development Process
Steps Description Input Output Example

1. Define Establish the goal of the Business Objective statement Objective: To predict the likelihood
Objective scorecard. requirements of a borrower defaulting on a loan
within the next 12 months.

2. Collect Data Gather historical data on Loan applications, Raw data set Data on atleast 10,000 loan
borrowers. repayment records, applications, including age,
demographic income, existing debt, repayment
information history.

3. Clean Data Prepare and clean the Raw data set Cleaned data set Removed records with missing
data for analysis. values in critical fields, corrected
erroneous entries.

4. Feature Identify relevant variables Cleaned data set List of selected features Selected features: Age, Income,
Selection for the scorecard. Debt-to-Income Ratio, Number of
Late Payments in the past year.

5. Data Splitting Split the data into training Cleaned data set Training and validation 70% of data allocated for training,
and validation sets. data sets 30% for validation.
Steps Description Input Output Example

6. Model Develop the statistical Training data set Developed Logistic regression model developed
Development model. model using selected features.

7. Model Validation Validate the model on Validation data set Validation Model accuracy and performance metrics
a separate data set. results evaluated on the validation set.

8. Score Calculation Calculate scores for Developed model, Scores Each borrower assigned a score from 300
each borrower. borrower data to 850 based on their likelihood of
default.

9. Scorecard Adjust and calibrate Scores, model Calibrated Adjustments made to score cutoffs and
Calibration the scorecard. performance data scorecard weights to improve prediction accuracy
and meet business
objectives.

10. Implementation Implement the Calibrated scorecard, Performance Scorecard implemented in loan decision
& Monitoring scorecard and monitor ongoing borrower reports process, regularly monitored for
its performance. data accuracy, and updated as
necessary.
Scorecard development roles
Statistical analysts, business analysts, and rule developers are involved in the process of developing scorecard applications.

Statistical analyst

The statistical analyst is responsible for the scoring model and selects the set of attributes or characteristics in a
scoring model that are used to make the final business decision. To determine the risk of a loan applicant, for example,
the statistical analyst might use the age, credit history, and loan amount attributes. Statistical analysts normally have
extensive domain knowledge so that they can decide which attributes are relevant to the business problem.

Business analyst

The business analyst translates the scoring model developed by statistical analysts into a formal specification acceptable to
rule developers. Business analysts also validate the specification with statistical analysts by creating use cases to test
and debug the developed scorecards.

Rule developer

The rule developer develops, debugs, and deploys scorecards. The rule developer also provides scorecard attribute
definitions.
Scorecards Vs Dashboards
1. Definition and Purpose

A dashboard is a business tool that provides a visual overview of the most important KPIs and metrics in a company and
updates them in real-time.

A scorecard is a framework that analyzes the current strategies and compares them with the company’s overall objectives.

To put it simply, purpose of a digital dashboard apps is to track performance, while a scorecard is focused on managing it.

2. Update features

Dashboards typically come with intelligent alarm systems that track data in real-time, while scorecards do that only
occasionally (on a daily, weekly, or monthly manner).

For instance, if you were in a meeting, presenting the latest findings to your team, the dashboard will automatically inform
you of any anomalies that occurred in real-time.

Scorecards will show you the exact same updates, but a week or a month later.
3. Measurement Tool

In dashboards, the main measurement tool is the included metrics.

On the other hand, scorecards combine both metrics and target values as the main measurement tool.

4. Goal Period

Scorecards focus on long-term goals, while dashboards are revolved around short-term goals.

5. Performance Indication

While a business dashboard offers users a clear overview of company performances, scorecards display the most
important business activity trends in a certain time frame.

5. Audience

Dashboards are most frequently used by low and middle-level management to make everyday decisions, while scorecards
are typically used by top management during strategic planning.
Metadata
Metadata are data about data.

Metadata describe the structure of and some meaning about data, thereby contributing to their effective or ineffective use.

For example, a table of recent customer orders constitutes a data set, while information about that data set—such as who
owns it or what type of file it is—is the metadata.

Given the sheer volume of data that businesses handle today, metadata is indispensable. It enhances data accessibility,
making it easier to navigate large data sets and convert raw information into actionable insights.

Metadata is also critical in data governance and data management.

Metadata also helps ensure data quality and data integrity.

Types of Metadata
Descriptive metadata

Descriptive metadata provides basic information about data, such as file title, author, keywords and summary.

Descriptive metadata is commonly used in social media platforms, search engines and data catalogs because it helps make
data searchable. On LinkedIn, for example, descriptive metadata—such as a user’s job title, education and skills—can help
sort and identify profiles.

Structural metadata

Structural metadata defines how data elements are organized and related to each other. For example, on a website,
structural metadata establishes how the home page links to other subpages and categorizes them into sections.

Structural metadata also helps systems organize complex data, similar to how a table of contents helps guide readers
through a book.
Administrative metadata

Administrative metadata provides information on data ownership, access permissions and retention policies. For
example, it might detail who created the data, who can modify it and how long to store it.

Administrative metadata can also help ensure compliance with legal and organizational rules by making a record of data
access and managing retention schedules. Also, it plays a critical role in managing preservation metadata, helping ensure
that data remains accessible and usable over time.

Technical metadata

Technical metadata describes a data file's technical details, such as file type, encoding information and storage
location. For example, the technical metadata for an image might include its resolution, file size, file format and color
profile.

Technical metadata also helps ensure data is stored, processed and displayed correctly across various systems and
platforms, such as content management systems or cloud storage solutions.
Preservation metadata

Preservation metadata helps ensure the long-term usability and accessibility of data. It includes details about a data set's
last backup and strategies for preserving data, such as porting data to new formats as technology evolves to keep it
from becoming obsolete.

For example, a healthcare organization might use preservation metadata to convert patient records from legacy systems to
modern electronic health record (EHR) formats for continued access and compliance.

Preservation metadata is critical in industries such as healthcare and legal services, where organizations must retain data
for extended periods to comply with certain rules and regulations.
Metadata model
The model is used by business users and report creators, rather than working directly with the database.

There are three layers (views) to the metadata model, representing increasing levels of abstraction of the underlying report
data:

Database View: Directly represents the data as it appears in the data warehouse. The database is queried by Data
Source Query Subjects, which map directly to SQL queries on your database. In the user interface, lines that link data
source query subjects show relationships and cardinality between query subjects.
Model View: A more abstract way of interacting with the data, the model view uses Model Query Subjects to combine
Data Source Query Subjects into informational chunks more easily accessible to a business user.
Dimensional View: An abstraction layer providing the highest-level view of reporting data, targeted at business users.
Data Source and Model Query Subjects contain query items, which can be used for to retrieve any of the following item
types:

ID. The item is an identifier. Identifiers are usually not of interest to reports. Most ID fields have ID in the name of the
database field.
Fact. Metric, measure, indicator, or other (usually numeric) data that can be aggregated, and is the focus of reporting.
Sales numbers or manufactured units are examples of facts.
Attribute. Provides the context in which facts can be usefully viewed, such as time or location.

Reports are composed of combinations of facts and attributes, for example: sales (fact) per month (month is an attribute of
the Time dimension).

The dimensional view is most important to report users. This view shows metrics in terms of their attributes. It includes the
following entities:

Measure dimensions - Facts, counts, numeric data, the things you are trying to measure, aggregate, and report on.
Regular dimensions - Facts in context of their attributes. For example, $3 million is a fact; $3 million in revenue for
widget foo in 2003 is a fact with two dimensions, product, and time. Regular dimensions define the ways in which
measure dimensions can be organized.
Scope relationships - Relate the measure and the regular dimensions.
Metadata Examples
Task Automation
Task automation refers to the use of software to complete work activities. Task automation improves the accuracy and
consistency of workflows, and powers more efficient processes.

Most importantly, task automation streamlines manual processes and minimizes the amount of labor required to
produce a specific result.

Businesses often use task automation software to simplify and speed up workflows, and to alleviate the burnout and
fatigue that come from completing the same task over and over.

Task automation allows workers to spend more of their time on activities that create value for the company, like
solving problems, improving processes, and taking care of customers.
Event Automation
Event Automation is a category of technology that has evolved from traditional event management software.

It allows companies to automate, personalize, and measure event management and marketing activities, so they can
increase marketing leads, sales pipeline, and revenue generated from events while also improving operational efficiency.

Event Automation technology provides functionality to help marketers optimize the impact of their event spend.
Task vs Event Automation
Features Task Automation Event Automation

Definition Automating repetitive tasks without requiring manual Automating responses to specific triggers or events.
intervention.

Trigger Usually scheduled (e.g., daily, hourly) or manually Triggered by a specific event (e.g., user action, system event).
triggered.

Example A script that sends a daily report at 9 AM. An email notification sent when a customer places an order.

Scope Focuses on automating predefined tasks. Focuses on real-time responses to system or user events.

Dependency Works independently based on pre-set schedules. Dependent on external triggers to initiate the process.

Use Case Routine data backups, batch processing, generating Alerts, real-time fraud detection, automated responses to
reports. system failures.
Mobile Business Intelligence
The ability to access analytics and data on mobile devices or tablets rather than desktop computers.
Advantages of Mobile BI
Accessibility

When business users have access to real-time data, and insights into results, challenges and opportunities, they can
mitigate risk, adapt to change and answer questions from customers, team members, managers and others. Desktop
and enterprise BI tools require users to be in the office, which limits access to tools and information for remote users or
those who are often on the road, working at home or visiting customers.

Adaptability

The evolution of Mobile BI tools has allowed businesses and their team members to work from anywhere, to remain
connected with access to valuable data insights and to keep the business moving with timely approvals, decisions and
completion of tasks and activities.

Productivity

If there is one thing business users and their managers hate more than anything, it is the inability to complete tasks or
the fear that a task will be completed without all the required information. Team members who are out of touch can
hold up the completion of a task or make the wrong decision, because they do not have access to the right information
and/or they lack the tools to share information with other users.

Collaboration

Creative, innovative solutions and insightful decisions only happen when a business team, management team or other
department, entity or group has access to tools that allow them to share, report, create reports, and present
information in a way that enables collaboration.

Data Democratization

The trend toward Citizen Data Scientists has gained in popularity. As business users transition from isolated team
members into Citizen Data Scientists, they need access to sophisticated BI tools that offer clear, concise results in an
easy-to-use interface, with features that enable team members to quickly gather and analyze data and share that data
with the team. The days of complex BI tools managed by IT teams and Data Scientists are over! While Data Scientists
work with crucial data to provide strategic direction, business users with access to self-serve BI tools can perform day-
to-day analytics and find the information that will help them complete tasks and make better decisions.

Data Literacy

Today’s businesses must do more with less. That means that every resource, every skill, and every piece of knowledge
must be leveraged to produce results. When business users gain literacy in data analytics, they can combine career
knowledge, industry skills and business experience with data insights to produce better results. Providing the right
Mobile BI tools to business users, takes the guesswork and frustration out of data analytics and ensures user adoption
and improved data literacy.

Time to Market

Your business must quickly adapt to change, understand competitive initiatives, shifting customer buying behavior,
supply and demand challenges and more. With the right mobile business intelligence tools, users can discover the
hidden nuggets of information that will help the business move forward quickly. They can answer prospective customer
questions to close an order, and explore product bundling opportunities, and new product possibilities, or analyze and
suggest changes to supply chain flow or production to ensure swift, reliable time to market.

Fact-Based Decision-Making

Mobile Business Intelligence solutions provide dashboards, reporting, analytical tools and other features on-the-go, so
users can explore data, drill-down to find the root cause of a problem, perform searches using natural language
processing (NLP) search analytics, visualize data, share data and make confident, data-driven decisions from any
location.
Mobile BI Solutions
There are a few methods by which Mobile BI provides Big Data and ETL solutions. They are categorized into three types:

Web-based solutions Native applications Hybrid solutions

Generally, the content to be This is one of the most expensive Hybrid solutions are the advanced
accessed and viewed on mobile custom-built software applications form of native analytics
devices is implemented using that support Mobile BI. It supports applications that render content by
HTML5 by software developers on mobile operating systems (OS), like using HTML5. In hybrid
web browsers. HTML5 helps to iOS and Android-based devices. applications, features of native
optimize the dashboards and data applications are merged with
visualization for consumption on HTML5 and perform similarly to
compact mobile phones, touch- Web-based solutions.
screen tablets, and other portable
devices very efficiently.
Tools used for Mobile BI Solutions
Web-Based Mobile BI Solutions (HTML5-based)

Tableau Online & Tableau Server, Power BI Service (access via mobile browser), Google Data Studio (Looker Studio), Domo
Qlik Sense, Sisense, SAP BusinessObjects BI

Native Mobile BI Applications (iOS & Android)

Microsoft Power BI Mobile (iOS & Android apps) ,Tableau Mobile, Qlik Sense, Mobile SAP BusinessObjects, Mobile Looker
Mobile, Domo Mobile App

Hybrid Mobile BI Solutions (Mix of Native & HTML5)

IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile, Oracle BI Mobile, MicroStrategy Mobile, Dundas BI, Sisense Mobile Hybrid App
Challenges of Mobile Business Intelligence
When implementing a mobile BI solution, security and privacy may pose problems. Companies have to make sure they
implement a strong security configuration in order to protect sensitive business and user data. Furthermore, the mobile
strategy should be aligned with existing security procedures.
Mobile devices can easily be hacked, lost or stolen. Using mobile BI may consequently put sensitive or confidential
information at greater risk of being breached.
Due to the limited screen size of mobile devices, the design of mobile BI applications presents new challenges to
developers. Each device and browser works differently.
Software Development Kits (SDKs)
SDK is a set of software-building tools for a specific platform.

It is a collection of software tools and programs that helps create applications for a specific platform or programming
language.

Often referred to as a devkit, an SDK contains all the elements that a developer would require to build new applications
based on a particular platform or programming language.

Based on the manufacturer, some SDKs will have an example or sample test project. This enables developers to initiate
their application building without starting from scratch.
How an SDK works
1. Purchase, download and install the “kit” for your platform (for example, premade parts, examples and instructions).
2. Open and leverage any APIs and all the development tools you need to build a new application, beginning with the
integrated development environment (IDE). This is the space where you will do the actual coding and where your
compiler is.
3. Use the instructions, documentation, code samples and testing tools to do the building, which gives you and your team
a healthy head-start.
A typical SDK might include some or all of these resources in its set of tools:

Compiler: Translates from one programming language to the one in which you will work.
Code samples: Give a concrete example of an application or web page.
Code libraries (framework): Provide a shortcut with code sequences that programmers will use repeatedly.
Testing and analytics tools: Provide insight into how the application or product performs in testing and production
environments.
Documentation: Gives developers instructions that they can refer to as they go.
Debuggers: Help teams spot errors in their code so they can push out code that works as expected.
API: Software bridge that enables communication between two applications.
Why use SDKs?
SDKs help software developers create applications for that specific platform, system, or programming language.

Think of it kind of like a toolkit, or the bag of tools that comes packaged with the parts of a dresser you’ve bought to
assemble yourself—only for app development. You have the building blocks—or development tools—you need to get the
job done, and what’s included in the kit varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Benefits
Simpler integrations: SDKs simplify the complexity of integrations by simplifying standard processes, such as creating
authorization signatures and interpreting SMS messages in native languages or platforms.

Documentation and instructions: SDKs provide built-in support and expertise with written code and support
documentation, tutorials, and more, removing the need to search for answers or outsource.

Cost savings: SDKs built within apps offer cost savings because of their shorter development cycles. The integrations also
don't require specialized technical skills, allowing your team to perform in-house integrations.
SDK Examples
Google Mobile Ads SDK (Google AdMob SDK) - Google Mobile Ads SDK is designed for integration into Android and iOS
applications and allows developers to monetize apps by integrating Google Ads.

Facebook SDK - Facebook SDK contains tools and software for developers to monetize apps using the platform’s extensive
ad network and audience targeting solutions. For example, it is possible to use Facebook SDK components to implement a
Facebook login page into an application.

OneSignal SDK - OneSignal is a notification service for native, web, and hybrid apps. It includes the powerful OneSignal API,
allowing developers to use the service to send push notifications, native (in-app) messages, and even send messages via
SMS and email.
Application Programming Interface (API)
An API, or application programming interface, is a set of rules or protocols that enables software applications to
communicate with each other to exchange data, features and functionality.

Whether working as a stand-alone solution or included within an SDK, an API facilitates communication between two
platforms.

A few of the popular APIs are:

Web APIs, which are used to reach web browsers and devices or as their own web services application.
SOAP APIs, which are a popular choice in cases of heightened data privacy and security.
Open APIs (or public APIs) and REST (or RESTful) APIs, which are a popular choice for ease of use and maximizing
bandwidth.
JSON-RPC, a goto for cases where asynchronous server calls are needed.
Custom APIs, for maximum agility with all the moving parts of software development.
API use cases
Map APIs are commonly used to customize a map on a web page or mobile application.
Payment APIs are often used by e-commerce companies so they can offer purchasing flexibility to customers,
expanding their potential customer base as a result.
Weather APIs can enhance the user experience of sports apps, search engines, etc.
SDK and API - Difference