Affecto Oyj : Why Self-Service Analytics? The 10 Benefits that Make You Rethink Your Business

Self-service analytics (SSA) is here to stay. While some companies have been taking the full advantage of self-service tools for months, even years, some companies have barely heard about the tools and paying very little attention to what it could bring to the table on a daily basis.

To describe self-service shortly, as a form of business intelligence it enables any business user to make queries, analyse data even at an advanced level, and create customised reports and visualisations of the data independently.

Modern self-service analytic tools allow you to extract data that you've previously needed to wait for days, if not weeks, from the IT department. Once you've finally got the required data in your hands, the report you received only generates more questions that you need more numbers and answers to. Before you even notice, you're already asking for another report that you, again, have to wait for days - if not weeks. It's an endless rat race. Sounds familiar?

'Self-service analytics creates a better ground for making more fact-based and fast business decisions.'

Self-service analyticsis the one tool your business needs for climbing quickly to the next level.

Let's examine the reasons why you should hop on the self-service train right now if you haven't yet done so:

#1 You need to be in control of your own data

Instead of being stuck with the endless rat race described above, you need to be in control of your own data. Self-service allows you to work more independently and efficiently with data that's always up to date. It's the best way to stop wasting your - and the It department's - precious time.

Waiting doesn't bring any results, does it?

#2 Low threshold to get started

Every business owner knows how a sudden jump to the unknown might feel like a massive effort. You don't want to throw your old systems in a bin after spending a countless amount of time, money and effort to get you where you are today.

The beauty of self-service is the low threshold to get started; There's no need for big investments or high maintenance costs. You can start small and get noticeable results quickly. There is a suitable implementation for every need; Flexible licensing, excellent scalability and options for both cloud-based and on-premise solutions.

#3 Time is gold-Turn it to profit

We can't highlight enough the time saved by the business users when they're able to get their hand on to the data on their own. But we shouldn't forget the other side of the business; In most companies, the IT organisation is spending their skills and efforts on queries that could be easily solved by the business users with the help of self-service solutions. Using SSA would leave the IT department time to focus on more useful operations. It's a win-win to everyone!

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#4 There are no limitations

The flexibility of self-service enables any type and size of business to benefit from it. There are no limitations with branch, turnover or the user-level; It can be as beneficial to a small boutique as to a multi-billion-dollar IT business. Self-service can be used by CEOs, data analysts and sales managers as well as an entrepreneur working alone.

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#5 Stop guessing, start making fact-based decisions

With the help of self-service, you'll be finally able to follow and get accurate advice in a day-to-day, even minute-to-minute basis how to do business with your customers; Which products are profitable, which are the ones to get rid of.

No more 'We should have done this two months ago!'

#6 From mass reporting to complete customisation

We're rapidly moving from mass reporting and mass marketing towards mass customisation. With the help of self-service analytics, you'll always get the most relevant and detailed information rather than 'general knowledge'.

#7 Predicting future isn't only for fortune-tellers

Mixing in facts and figures together with other elements, like the weather forecast or sentiment analysis from your social media channels, you'll always be one step ahead and able to grow your business faster than ever before. You'll be able to spot trends from the past and turn them into future winnings.

#8 Build bridges between IT and the rest of the business

Self-service massively helps to increase the collaboration between IT and other departments; Old-school top-down hierarchies will slowly disappear, and different departments will work more as a team than individual functionalities within the company.

#9 Find your inner Data Rockstar!

Believe it or not, most users think playing with self-service analytics is FUN! After a while, the users get very passionate about the tools. They share their insights with the community, and they understand and improve business better than before. Imagination increases, as well as the capability to think out of the box.

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#10 Anyone can do it

No doubt the best feature of self-service is the simplicity. The basic tools are very easy to use, and they can be used by anyone; You don't need any skills for coding or programming for analysing data to make quick and fact-based business decisions.

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Using self-service analytics can be like playing a computer game - fun, exciting and instructive, all at the same time. Not only will you have more time for completing other tasks, but it also affects your personal life; you have more time and less stress.

It's not all glory, though. After stepping into the world of self-service, you still have one problem to solve; What to do with all the time you spare?

How to get started?

We created atrend reportexplaining the basics of self-service and providing you with the benefits, the challenges, the recent changes and the future insights of self-service analytics. This trend report will not only give you reasons why you should start using self-service right now but also how to get started with SSA with a few simple steps.

Are you ready to take your business to a whole new level? Download the report now!