Business Intelligence In The Banking Sector
I may not know the actual figures, but I am willing to bet my bottom Lilangeni that the average liSwati is able to comfortably access their money using technology. This wasn’t the case just a decade ago. Technology has forced us all to adapt and adapt, we have. With new technologies around every corner through mobile devices, computers, and the internet of things (IoT), the amount of big data we produce every day is only expected to increase. According to technology experts, 90 percent of the data in the world was generated in the last two years. While the influx of information brings the opportunity to gain deeper insight into customer behavior, banks and financial institutions need to implement business intelligence practices to ensure they make the most of the data revolution.
So, what is Business Intelligence? Business intelligence (BI) refers to the practice of converting big data into actionable insights. The goal of business intelligence is to present data in new, easy-to-understand ways so it can be used to support crucial business decisions. The banking sector can use the insights they gain to understand customer purchase behaviors and trends, support the budgeting and planning processes, measure marketing campaign effectiveness, make sales predictions and financial estimations, analyze and improve operational performance and organize data and create reports for regulatory compliance.
The idea of business intelligence sounds great, doesn’t it? Data that’s simple to understand and apply to real-life decision making is something every industry can benefit from. However, making sense of the large amount of data available across the banking and finance industries is no easy feat. It would be incredibly tedious, overwhelming, and time consuming if it were to be done manually. Considering the volume of information most companies have dispersed across various applications and services, achieving a 360-degree view of your customers and business as a whole can be a challenge for any business. In order to use business intelligence practices to your advantage, a unified aggregate of data is an absolute must-have. That’s why businesses are utilizing software tools to quickly understand, analyze and find value in big data.
Business intelligence software tools, such as Microsoft Power BI, provide easy-to-understand visualizations of data to help organizations uncover actionable insights. Greater visibility into your historical and current data enables you to better understand trends and implement predictive analytics. These tools can merge disparate data from across various business applications to create a unified source of information that anyone in your institution can use. By creating a collective repository of data, business intelligence software cuts out the tedious work in a straightforward platform that makes it easy to integrate data from various business applications and services, gain more visibility into the entirety of your business, access information quickly and in easy-to-understand formats
Business intelligence tools can mitigate risks by helping you put data into action. By tracking customer behavior, you can quickly detect fraudulent activities. And by tracking employee behavior, you can ensure they are in compliance with industry regulations. The data you have at your disposal, along with information related to the current economic climate, can also be used to analyze credit portfolios and spot possible instances of delinquency. Overall, business intelligence tools are a proactive way to mitigate risks across the financial sector.
Retaining your current customers is a highly profitable and sustainable business strategy, making your business intelligence tools one of your greatest assets. With the most up-to-date information on your customers, including the most profitable ones, you’ll be able to market the most relevant products and services to their needs and preferences. You can also gather information to understand which products may need to be enhanced and which can be withdrawn.
BI can also be used as a way of gaining competitive advantage. Personalization is a hot topic in every industry, and the banking and finance sectors have been quick to catch on. Because of this, gaining an edge over the competition is crucial. Using business intelligence tools, the data you already have makes it simple to personalize customer experiences. Organizations can monitor market trends to strategize new investment opportunities, predict customer behavior through analytics and tailor products to each customer’s individual needs.
The data institutions have relating to customer relationship management (CRM) can provide insight into the profitability of their marketing campaigns. Measuring email performance, advertising spend, and overall campaign success can help you determine areas where your messages are resonating with customers and opportunities to improve. The efficiency of your internal organization is just as important as your customers’ experience with your company. Using business intelligence software solutions is a data-backed way to assess resource allocation, operational procedures, and the performance of your employees. Your data can tell you areas where you can cut costs, improve the customer experience, and maximize operational efficiencies.
