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Why AI May Spell the End of BI

Knownwell

Is artificial intelligence set to render traditional business intelligence obsolete? BI has long been a staple in executive decision-making, providing insights into past performance through structured data analysis and custom reporting. Traditionally, BI tools like Power BI and Tableau have offered descriptive analytics, customizable dashboards and reports, and easy-to-digest data visualizations, helping companies reflect on past data to inform future strategies. However, as Mohan Rao points out, this approach now seems reminiscent of the “audio cassette era of data.”

The AI Advantage

David DeWolf emphasizes that AI will soon precede BI in making meaningful sense of the vast amounts of data businesses collect. While BI inundates leaders with data that they must decipher, AI has the potential to interpret and offer actionable insights, almost akin to receiving a clear map after years of wandering aimlessly. “Ninety-one percent of executives say they have so much data that it undermines their decision-making, yet 93% of executives say they don’t have the intelligence they need to make good decisions,” David says, “AI comes before BI because it actually can tell us what to do. It can actually infer, draw conclusions, make judgments, and bring recommendations to bear.”

AI’s ability to learn from data, adapt to new inputs, and predict future trends poses a stark contrast to the static, backward-looking information provided by traditional BI. It represents an evolution from descriptive to predictive analytics, embodying a paradigm shift that Courtney Baker suggests could redefine the meaning of BI from “business intelligence” to “business information.” As David says, “BI doesn’t learn and apply anything. It just reports and helps us to visualize and digest.”

Re-evaluating Enterprise Architectures

As organizations reassess their enterprise architectures, the role of BI will change. Mohan Rao describes BI as one of many “smaller blocks” in the broader ecosystem, suggesting its functions may soon integrate into larger, more sophisticated AI platforms. If you’re invested in traditional BI tools, you might reconsider what an AI-enabled enterprise architecture could look like. The impending transformation promises to commoditize the current information layer, much like AI-enabled platforms are expected to revolutionize business data handling and decision-making. David’s prediction? “It’s only those technical components that will be leveraged by AI that I think will remain.”

What’s Next? A New Era of Intelligent Solutions

The experts conclude that while some elements of BI might persist, AI will fundamentally reshape how businesses process information. The future lies in proactive intelligence systems that not only report but also make sense of data dynamically, offering real-time insights and recommendations that BI tools could only dream of. Mohan Rao captures this sentiment, saying, “AI is much more dynamic in nature. The comparison between BI and AI is a little bit like second graders playing baseball and a major league player. They may look similar in aspects, but they’re two totally different things.”

In summary, as AI continues to advance, it’s set to change the landscape of business intelligence irrevocably. Whether it’s simplifying data complexity or delivering actionable intelligence, AI is not just an add-on—it’s the future. As Courtney Baker sums up, the next generation of business platforms won’t just report; they’ll revolutionize how we understand and use the vast sea of data at our fingertips.

Expert Interview: Max Votek of Customertimes

Our expert interview for this episode is with Max Votek, Managing Partner at Customertimes. Max and Pete Buer dive into a recent Customertimes report that found a larger share of Americans are optimistic about the adoption of AI in healthcare (48%) than the opposite (32%). How does Max see AI adoption in healthcare playing out, and what will some of the key advantages be?

One area where he sees great potential is AI helping lighten the cognitive load that’s currently placed on doctors and health care practitioners. “If you take any aspect in healthcare, some of the processes and some of the thought processes of the doctor can be transferred to parallel processing by AI,” he says. “You can eliminate the burden on the doctors, and eliminate the feeling of burnout in their daily routine.”

One of the big takeaways for business leaders from this conversation? If the general public is open to AI impacting areas of their lives as important as healthcare, this would seem to indicate a general willingness to utilize the technology in other areas as well.

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