Information technology is evolving, with users expecting more customization and empowerment in the workplace, prompting IT organizations to innovate and refocus on efficacy rather than just efficiency. Key trends reshaping business intelligence include the importance of data visualization, the growing significance of big data, the flexibility of cloud solutions, the role of social collaboration in analytics, and the accessibility brought by mobile technology. To meet these evolving needs, self-service visual data discovery is recommended to facilitate user access to data and strengthen the partnership between business and IT.

1. trends that are reshaping
Information
Technology (IT)

2. It’s a well-known fact that
information technology is changing.

3. People are using technology more
than ever before. And as our users
become more comfortable with
technology at home, expectations
about technology in the workplace
are changing too.
Users have higher expectations
about both the availability of new
technology as well as their ability to
customize it and make it their own.
Technology is no longer just a tool.
It is an extension of the individual.
To keep up with these demands,
IT organizations need to innovate.

4. The role of IT needs to shift:
From Enforcement to Empowerment:
The focus can no longer be on locking
everything down. Instead, IT organizations must
focus on the enablement and empowerment
of users.
From Efficiency to Efficacy:
In recent years, IT focused a lot on costs.
But focusing too much on efficiency can lead
to decreased IT service offerings and result in
business frustration. Instead, IT organizations
need to focus on efficacy – how IT can help
the business meet their needs.

5. And to make a difficult situation even worse,
IT needs to respond to these changes
at the very same time that IT budgets
are declining and there are significant
fundamental technological changes underway.

6. But amidst all this change,
one thing remains the same:
BI and analytics continue to be a priority
for the business. In fact, the desire to use data
in every day decision making is extending
beyond traditional data driven roles such as
finance and marketing. More and more users
are recognizing that they, too, can benefit
from data driven decision making.

7. So how does IT ensure that they are
empowering their users with the tools
they need to naturally explore data, ask the
next question, and uncover the insight they
need to make informed decisions?

8. 1 Visualization
2 Big Data
3 Cloud
4 Social
5 Mobile
To start, IT must understand five key trends
affecting business intelligence today:

9. Visualization
1

10. Data visualizations are a powerful tool
because they take advantage of innate human
capabilities to explore and process complex
information. Used the right way, data visualizations
offer the ability to intelligently summarize
information and convey new meaning in data.

11. But adding visualizations to
existing BI isn’t enough. How the
business uses visualizations is just as
important. Many visualizations look
good, but lack meaning. Or worse,
they mislead the user to an incorrect
conclusion. To derive deep insights,
users need to be able to interact and
explore their visualizations to better
understand their data.

12. Big Data
2

13. Big data is not interesting because it is BIG.
The toolsets to manage and process large
amounts of data are maturing rapidly.
What is interesting is that we are at a time in
history when we can know almost anything
on any topic. So, the question about big data
becomes one of innovation. What are we
going to do with this wealth of information?

14. In today’s digital world,
understanding the data means
understanding the business.
So, in order to answer that question
of what to do, organizations need
more users looking at their business
data, both big and small; asking more
questions; and deriving more insight.
This is critical because the real power
of data doesn’t come from the data
alone. It comes from the combination
of data with human expertise and
intuition. It is the power of informed
intuition that drives real innovation.

15. Cloud
3

16. Cloud can refer to a lot different things:
PaaS, IaaS, SaaS, etc. But at the core, what
cloud really means is that components of the
IT infrastructure – from the data center to
the software itself – can be managed and
supported by someone else.

17. There are a number of reasons why companies
choose to pursue cloud offerings:
Low cost of entry:
You can get started with a project with minimal
up-front investment.
Flexibility and agility:
You can contract and expand your service as you need it.
Value differentiation:
You can focus your energy on the services that are true
differentiators rather than keep-the-lights-on activities.
1
2
3

18. When it comes to business intelligence, cloud
requires some special considerations:
Security & Compliance:
It is critical to ensure that any cloud implementation
protects your organization’s most valuable technology
asset – your data.
Cost:
The cost of storing and processing data is only a part of
the story. You need to keep in mind the cost in terms of
time, money, and performance for moving data between
data center locations.
1
2

19. Social
4

20. Social doesn’t mean chatting. And it is much
more than just sharing the latest news on
Facebook and Twitter. Social is about how
technology can support collaboration
even as work groups become more
geographically dispersed.

21. When it comes to analytics, it is not
just about online – it’s about inline.
It is critical that you integrate the
analytic conversation closely with the
BI tools so that collaboration happens
as close to the analysis as possible.
By ensuring that this happens, you are
able to drive common understanding
and provide the added benefit of
capturing the conversation
around data-driven decisions.
And that’s powerful.

22. Mobile
5

23. Mobile isn’t really about mobility.
It’s about access and touch.

24. These days, many people carry some kind
of connected device on them at all times,
and given mobile usage growth trends,
that is unlikely to change. This means that
you can answer any question, anytime,
anywhere. And the touch experience
encourages immersion and exploration.
When we use touch, we explore
and learn. When we use a keyboard,
we create and input.

25. With mobile, we provide a new, immersive
way to explore data anytime, anywhere.
And that engages users and promotes
stronger BI adoption.

26. So how do you balance trends in the
BI industry with increasing pressure to give
every user access to the data they need,
when they need it?
The answer is
self-service visual data discovery.

27. Self-service visual data discovery is nimble,
straightforward, mobile, and for everyone.
• It provides less of a burden on short-staffed IT
departments by delivering an ecosystem for data
discovery rather than specific, overly-defined
business reports.
• It gives business users an easy-to-use tool that
helps them explore their data in a natural way.
• And it creates a stronger partnership
between the business and IT.

28. To learn more, visit qlik.com or download our guide for
evaluating governed self-service data visualization vendors.
Download Qlik
®
Sense Desktop – a free self-service
visualization and discovery application that lets
your instincts lead the way.

29. qlik.com
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