If you don’t know by now, business intelligence (BI) is the best way for your organization to stay competitive in the market. BI utilizes a variety of tools and methodologies to allow organizations to collect data, analyze it, and transform it into reports and visualizations that make analytical results available to decision makers. Business intelligence can accelerate your decision-making process, help your organization optimize processes, increase efficiency, create new revenues, and ultimately gain an advantage over your competition.

Over the last years, we’ve seen BI revamp organizations of all types and sizes, and we predict it will continue to become more and more popular. Here are the top three trends to look out for in 2017:

1. Modern BI takes the lead

Last year, many organizations began making the shift to modern BI. The capability to evaluate analytics moved from the hands of very few to the fingertips of many, as businesses transitioned away from the IT-centric reporting platforms to modern BI and analytics platforms. Organizations are empowering even non-analysts to explore data and collaborate with their findings. In 2017, we will see modern BI become a top priority for organizations of all sizes across all industries.

2. Analytics will become more accessible

Technologic advancements have made working with data feel more natural; online data is no longer a language only IT specialists understand. In 2017, advanced analytics will become the new standard for business users and will no longer be reserved for use by data scientists and experts exclusively. In the past year, we’ve already seen business users leveraging powerful analytics functions, and in 2017, they will continue to expand their analytics skill set.

3. Data literacy will become a crucial skill

As advanced analytics become more accessible to business users, data literacy will become a new necessary skill for professionals of all types. Last year, LinkedIn listed business intelligence as one of the hottest skills to get you hired and we don’t expect to see that changing anytime soon. Just as proficiency in Microsoft Office is expected of all business professionals, in 2017, competency in analytics will become fundamental in the workplace.

Now is the time to implement a business intelligence program for your business, no matter how large or small your organization may be. While business intelligence may be a new and growing industry, at NSA we have years of experience developing and implementing BI programs for organizations of all types and sizes. Let us give your business the competitive advantage in your market!