Investopedia defines business intelligence as “the technology and data infrastructure of an organization.” Business Intelligence is the blanket term to describe a wide array of tools to assist companies with identifying revenue streams, improving operational processes, and creating benchmarks that may be shared across the organization.
It sounds simple, right?
Businesses, organizations, and communities have questions, objectives, and choices to make every day. Business Intelligence provides the data to support those decisions through research and interpretation. Statistics are then analyzed at the local, regional, or state level.
For example, industry or occupational snapshots are gathered and shared with local business owners to provide insight on median hourly wages in the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area (MSA) compared with median hourly wages throughout Texas. Data analytics tools are utilized to extract data which is transformed to tell a story that accurately portrays the community.
Some examples of Data:
- Target Industries Prospects data is based on the community economic profile and local resources. It supports attraction and retention efforts. It is vital to research growing industries, emerging technologies, and to compile historical data to review the market outlook for specific industries.
- Local Labor Force Statistics are readily available for community members, government agencies, and end-users to analyze the health of the local labor market and recognize opportunities for improvement.
- Cost of Living data is collected and organized into six categories (food, housing, utilities, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services) during a specified time on a quarterly basis.
- Community Profile data provides an overview of the local community such as demographics, median income, population, industry employment, housing, labor analysis, etc.
The compilation of this data assists with building a roadmap for Wichita Falls based on current and historical data.
Business Intelligence provides real-time data to enhance workflows, understand key performance indicators, develop strategic plans, and create objectives. It also provides clarity to streamline business processes, optimize communication, reduce costs, and positively impact the community.
Business Intelligence also helps us understand industry pain points, uncover trends and inconsistencies, and develop long-term strategies to change community standards, enhance existing businesses, attract new businesses, and stimulate growth in the community.
Shay Jones is the Director of Business Intelligence for the Wichita Falls Chamber and Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation.
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