What are business analytics tools?

Business analytics tools are types of application software that retrieve data from one or more business systems and combine it in a repository, such as a data warehouse, to be reviewed and analyzed. Most organizations use more than one analytics tool, including spreadsheets with statistical functions, statistical software packages, sophisticated data mining tools, and predictive modeling tools. Together, these business analytics tools give the organization a complete overview of the company to provide key insights and understanding of the business so smarter decisions may be made regarding business operations, customer conversions, and more.

While business intelligence tools also collect and display aggregate data, business analytics tools go a step further to not only report the results of the data, but explain why the results occurred to help identify weaknesses, fix potential problem areas, alert decision makers to unforeseen events, and even forecast future results based on decisions the company might make. This gives organizations the understanding and confidence to achieve business goals, keep the company competitive, and increase overall customer satisfaction.