In 2019, Advanced Analytics capabilities with minimal manual efforts will remain the hallmark of all competitive Business Intelligence solutions. The Business Application Research Center (BARC) 2018 Business Intelligence Survey indicates that the global BI solutions market is slated for major technological changes. The primary technology initiatives that BI users can expect in 2019 are Cloud BI deployments, BI on mobile, Machine Learning- and Deep Learning-powered Analytics, and stringent data privacy and security regulations.

The Impact of Advanced AI technologies on BI Platforms

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies continue to transform businesses, enterprises will increasingly depend on the automated data-analysis capabilities of powerful BI systems. So far as Business Analytics and BI are concerned, AI research has reached maturation of some sorts, and both ML applications in a big way, and Deep Learning (DL) applications in a small way have begun to hit the markets. In 2019 for the first time, users will actually experience mainstream access to Advanced Analytics.

A slideshow from Information Management, 10 Predictions on Advanced Analytics and BI Trends, confirms that Gartner analysts Douglas Laney et al., (authors of a market report titled 100 Data and Analytics Predictions Through 2022) think that “the power of analysis” is a game changer in today’s business environment.

In this report, the authors have tried to show how even highly subjective business decisions, such as talent selection or branding activities, are now completely driven by data and insights. Moreover, the earlier data-driven analyses like risk analysis are becoming more sophisticated and more adaptive to user needs.

A Quick Round-up of Major BI Trends of 2018

Business Intelligence and Analytics Trends in 2018 lists the major milestones achieved in the BI world this year, and suggests many of these trends will continue in 2019:

• IoT-driven Analytics increased operational efficiency across industry sectors from city planning to retail. IoT data pipelines have also given a huge impetus to Advanced Analytics in businesses.
• Most BI solution vendors are offering Data Visualization and Self-service Capabilities—the hallmarks of modern BI systems. These capabilities have democratized traditional Data Science activities in organizations.

Finally, the sudden rise of Advanced Business Analytics across businesses of all shapes and sizes can be directly attributed to cheap storage, easy availability of massive volumes of data, and IoT devices. Big Data Trends for 2018 confirms that one of the primary reasons behind the explosive rise of Big Data Analytics is Cloud storage solutions.

Major Trends to Watch for in 2019 BI Systems

The list of visible trends in the coming year’s BI solutions is finally out. All businesses waiting eagerly for fresh functionality on their favorite BI platforms can expect the following enhancements in the coming year:

• Chief Data Officer: The Top 6 Business Intelligence Trends to Watch for in 2018 and Beyond indicates that 90 percent of big enterprises will have a Chief Data Officer by the end of 2019. This individual will play a key role in driving the business Analytics culture in the organization.
• Self-service: Gartner thinks that Self-service Analytics and BI users will together conduct more Business Analytics than Data Scientists by 2019.
• New Data Governance Initiatives: The frequency of data breach incidents in 2017 necessitated the creation and deployment of stricter DG policies and regulations. Lack of data protection caused serious damages to businesses; thus, Data Governance through compliance with regulations like General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a top priority for BI solution vendors in 2019.
• Focus on Master Data and Data Quality: As the most important criterion behind the success of BI operations is the quality of data, the BI solution vendors have concentrated on providing enhanced capabilities for managing Master Data and Data Quality on their systems. Now customers will be able to monitor and manage Data Quality from a single, unified database holding the master data—instead of multiple, disconnected databases.
• Move to Cloud: Gartner has predicted that by 2021 most businesses will move a significant part of their data activities, including Advanced Analytics, to the Cloud. This trend is gradually unfolding and in 2019, users can certainly expect many more Cloud adoptions. This trend will ultimately reduce the cost of in-house infrastructure maintenance and ownership.
• Self-Service BI: The goal of Self-service BI is data democratization and ensuring that the benefits of business Analytics reach even the bottom of the corporate ladders. In the self-service platforms, users, no matter what job title they hold, will have direct access to tools capable of creating on-demand reports. Hopefully, this trend will reduce the burden on the internal IT staff. Take a peek into IBM Cognos Analytics to know what to expect from self-service BI in 2019.
• Augmented BI: With most Self-service BI platforms, users can expect augmented Analytics tools in 2019. Thanks to AI and Machine Learning, these tools will make Analytics intuitive and comprehensible to ordinary business users, thus transforming the user experience. The shortage of Data Scientists will be less perceptible with these advanced BI tools.
• Advanced Data Discovery Tools: The C-Suite Executives often find complete reliance on skilled Data Scientists for day-to-day understanding of business issues too inhibiting. Fortunately, the new BI systems with advanced Data Discovery and Visualization capabilities will eliminate the need for having Data Scientists during rushed decision-making sessions. The trend that took off within corporate boardrooms will continue to proliferate across many layers of management in 2019.

Top Business Intelligence Trends 2019 seems to back up the above claims about upcoming BI trends. This report states that Data Discovery, Self-Service, Data Governance, and Data Quality are all highly related, and these major goals for 2019 BI platforms can only be achieved through proper funding and developmental resources.

Along with these trends, another trend that received high votes was autonomy of Data Integration, Data Analysis, and Data Visualization. Surprisingly, this report reflects lesser prominence of Big Data Analytics in 2019, though the solution vendors are gearing up for enhanced Big Data Analytics tools on their BI platforms. Tableau’s BI trends reports how GDPR regulations are catching up with current data practices.

The Future of BI in 2019 and Beyond

The Future of Business Intelligence takes stock of what is about to happen in the world of BI in 2019 and beyond—from trends and technologies to enterprise adoption of advanced BI platforms reducing the need for Data Scientists. Here are some major future events about to overtake the BI ecosystem:

• BI budgets across organizations are increasing every year.
• Technology advancements like Automated Analytics have a positive impact on the future of BI.
• By 2021, prebuilt reports will be 75 percent replaced by automated insights with intuitive reporting capabilities.
• According to Gartner, by 2023, Deep Learning will take over from ML as the preferred solution approach for data applications.
• Gartner has also predicted that by 2024, Data Scientists will not be needed for adopting Data Science and advanced AI technologies in organizations.
• Cloud-first strategy will probably work best for Analytics and BI.
• Edge Computing and NLP are likely to transform future BI systems.

The Future of BI is Bright, as Experts Note Evolving Trends gives a detailed preview of the future BI world. According to Advanced Analytics: Exploration of Some Transformative Future Trends, more governments will adopt Big Data Analytics in their administrative systems.

The Last but Not Least

A discussion about the future of BI trends is hardly complete without mentioning “personalized interactions.” At least two types of personalized interactions are clearly visible in the current context:

• The intuitive interactions between BI devices and the user, making the user experience more personalized.
• Real-time location analysis fueling customer interactions. According to Gartner, by 2022, 30 percent of customer interactions will be influenced by real-time location analysis.

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