2022-07-04 00:00:00
7 min read
Self-service BI adoption rates are increasing. An interesting report by Allied Market Research projects the market valuation to be at $14.19 billion USD by 2026, ascending at a 14.8% CAGR from 2019-2026. While North America was among the early adopters back in 2018, Self-service BI solutions will continue to carve a role in the core strategic processes of companies in other parts of the world. Consider the Asia-Pacific region - a steady rise in the number of SMEs and the increasingly liberal mindset of entrepreneurs in the region has opened the doors for technological solutions like Self-service BI to enter.
SELF-SERVICE WITH NATURAL LANGUAGE QUERYING
To define, Self-service BI is ‘a software that is developed with data analytics approach to enable business users to access and analyze business data without the need to have statistical analysis, BI knowledge, or data mining background’ (AMR).
Natural Language Querying, as the term suggests, is when a business user can make an independent query on his/her BI Tool. Independent here denotes freedom from typing in coded queries, or using special logic or syntax to make the system understand your question. Natural Language Querying, or NLQ, is one of the primary methods through which a business user can synergize his vast experience and answers from the company’s data to arrive at the best decisions, without wasting time on either learning or executing anything new.
Here’s an example of how a Natural Language Query is conducted in a BI Tool, in just 2 steps:
Typing in a question like ‘Why did sales grow?’ should prompt an effective NLQ tool to generate a response in real-time, as below
Interested in trying out querying on your own on Phrazor? Grab access to a free trial!
The above illustrations give a clear idea of how easy it is to conduct natural language or conversational querying. Relevant audiences can also check out our other blog on Applications of NLQ in Marketing.
TAKING DATA ANALYSIS TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH EFFORTLESS ANALYTICAL QUERYING
Notice that the above question contained a ‘Why’. Why do we highlight it? Because it’s special!
Apart from both the query and response being primarily language-based, not many BI tools in the market can recognize and respond to context-based queries such as ‘Why’. Establishing data interrelationship in this manner and producing actionable insights to no code queries is of immense benefit to a business user.
In addition to ‘Why’, let us explore some of the other analytical queries that Phrazor, a double-patented BI Tool specializing in helping business users create dashboards-on-the-fly, offers:
COMPARE
Supported synonyms - contrast, vs versus
There is no data analysis to be had without comparisons between measures and dimensions, whether it be comparing your brand’s performance to an external competitor or just another product of your products within the product line or an in-house brand vying for the same market.
Let’s look at examples of ‘Compare’ works in the Phrazor interface. Typing in a question ‘Compare South vs West for Sales’ -
Before we move on to the answer, notice the list of suggestions that pop up once the query is asked in the search bar. This is a common theme across all queries.
Moving on to the answer -
Phrazor produces a perfect answer in language, in real-time, aided with a dynamic visualization, and hundreds of possible customization options, which is a subject for another time
TREND
Supported synonyms - trendline, movement, progression, fluctuation
Asking trend-based questions helps users detect changes in periodic patterns, early warning signs and outliers, so they can make proactive decisions to mitigate early risks. Initiating a conversational querying back-and-forth with ‘Weekly trend in Sales for North East’
This time around, the visualization was automatically presented in a stacked line + filled area format, ideal for understanding trend-type information.
CHANGE
Supported synonyms - variance, difference, evolve, growth, decline, and more. Overall, 20+ synonyms supported
Analyzing any kind of variance, like observed growth or decline in a measure, over a period of time, is possible through ‘Change’. Inserting a natural analytical query - ‘Change in sales for south by month’. Notice that the period is specified by the user
Likewise, effortless analytical querying can be undertaken by anyone through Phrazor by using other supported concepts such as
a) Target vs Achievement - Measure variance between the target value and actual value for different dimensions. For example, sales reports where consistent target objectives vs achievement statistics are presented
b) Budget vs Analysis - View spend visibility and analysis to reduce costs, analyze the feasibility of projects, and improve results
CAN A USER INSERT TWO ANALYTICAL KEYWORDS INTO 1 QUERY?
Yes. Let’s say we ‘Compare the monthly change in Sales of South with all Regions’. Phrazor’s reliable natural language querying capabilities will whip up a response in no time -
IT DOESN’T STOP HERE
It’s great that BI tools like Phrazor support such advanced queries in a natural format. But the insights produced may not be actionable - after all, only the surface is scratched.
That’s where you dig deep. With Narrative-based Drill-Down. This is the detailed blog link, however, if you want to know quickly what it entails, here goes:
Narrative-based drill-down is a simple click-and-dig drill-down where a user reveals a new layer of insights by hovering on and selecting the particular visual element they want to drill down into. The specialty here is that each new insight layer is loaded with dynamic narratives (insights in language) and dynamic visualizations. The process can be repeated till the data allows for it.
Phrazor is on a mission to help business users create dashboards on their own, with a super-short learning curve and fast and secure integration to company data sources. You can get started with Phrazor within a day. Why not discover Phrazor’s applications and ease of use by taking a no-commitment virtual tour with one of our solutions consultants?
About Phrazor
Phrazor empowers business users to effortlessly access their data and derive insights in language via no-code querying
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