How To Choose the Best Analytics Tools For Your Business

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Business analytics tools are increasingly becoming a staple in a data-driven, digitalised world. However, “Business Analytics” is a broad, catch-all term, and deciding which tool is right for you depends on understanding which business analytics you need. Here are five types of business analytics, along with suggested tools for each.

1. Application Performance Monitoring

The first type of business analytics is application performance monitoring. This type of tool is used by app development and SaaS companies to track the performance of their software.

These business analytics tools will look at things such as system performance, response times, and error rates. This information can be extremely helpful in alerting you to urgent issues with performance and understanding what changes need to be made to improve the overall user experience.

Business Analytics Tool Suggestion for Application Performance Monitoring

Dynatrace’s APM tool regularly comes out on top in peer reviews and industry listicles. Reviewers praise its precision and accuracy, as well as its ease of use, especially as a collaborative tool.

2. Supply Chain Data Analytics

The second type of business analytics is supply chain data analytics. This type of tool is used by businesses to track and analyse their supply chains. These business analytics tools will look at things such as supplier performance, inventory levels, and shipping times. This information can help you streamline your supply chain, improve supplier relationships, and avoid stockouts.

Business Analytics Tool Suggestion for Supply Chain Data Analytics

Qlik Sense’s supply chain data analytics tool is a popular choice for this type of business analytics. The tool offers a wide range of functionalities enabling you to explore data the way you want and modify your reports accordingly. However, the platform has had some negative feedback regarding ease of use and its speed when handling large amounts of data.

3. Consumer Intelligence

This type of tool is used by businesses to track and understand their customers. These business analytics tools will look at things such as customer sentiment, customer loyalty, drivers and barriers, preferences and pain points. This information can help you make better marketing decisions, improve the overall customer experience, and identify potential areas for growth.

Business Analytics Tool Suggestion for Consumer Intelligence

Symanto offers a wide range of tools and services in this area. Our tools are known for their ability to track customer data across social media and the web, as well as for their robust and detailed reporting capabilities. Symanto also offers unique psychographic insights that can help you understand your customers on a deeper level.

4. Office Analytics

The fourth type of business analytics is office analytics. This type of tool is used by businesses to track and understand how their employees are using office resources. These business analytics tools will look at things such as email usage, meeting attendance, and document sharing. This information can help you improve communication and collaboration within your organisation, as well as identify potential areas of inefficiency.

Business Analytics Tool Suggestion for Office Analytics

SAS Office Analytics, for Microsoft Office users, is praised for its machine-learning predictive analysis capabilities which can help you make better decisions about things like resource allocation and personnel management. Reviewers also like the speed and ease with which you can create, personalise and deploy reports.

5. Web Analytics

These tools are used by businesses to track and understand their website traffic. They look at things such as page views, unique visitors, and bounce rates. This information can help you improve your website’s design and content, as well as identify potential areas of growth.

Business Analytics Tool Suggestion for Web Analytics

Google Analytics is perhaps the most widely used tool for this type of business analytics, and it provides the insights that most businesses need, but there are many free and paid options that offer more advanced functionalities for different use cases.

For example, Chartbeat focuses on publisher content and is used by news organisations and publications including the New York Times, Al Jazeera, Le Monde and Forbes. Using both real-time and historical data, Chartbeat analyses reader engagement and enables publishers to identify the content that most resonates with their customers.

We hope this overview of the different types of business analytics helps you to make an informed decision about the best tool for your business. The key is to search specifically for a business analytics tool that specialises in the area that you’re looking to measure.

Get Started With Symanto

If you’d like to learn more about Symanto’s customer, competitor and market intelligence analytics capabilities get in touch, or if you’d like to try out our tools for yourself, we’re offering a free 21 day trial with 500 free credits when you register for the Symanto Insights platform.