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The 10 best business analytics tools for business-driven results.

Data is a transformational force in every business and analyzing that data has become a mandatory skill. Business analytics tools are types of application software that collect data from different systems, archive it, and then store it in data warehouses. The data warehouse is able to analyze and interpret the users’ data.

It is common for a business to utilize multiple business analytics tools in order to get fully-rounded results. These business analytics tools create business-driven results. But not every business analytics tool is created equal, nor will every tool have precisely what you need.

Which exact business analytic tools should you know about right now? We’ve got the breakdown for you.

Analyze and interpret data with the 10 best business analytics tools.

Microsoft Power BI.
Microsoft Power BI is a simple solution to messy and unorganized problems. With an interface that is already pretty familiar to most, you can give everyone a chance to understand what your data is trying to tell you. Their analytics are self-service and even have Excel integrated. They also have tight security with “sensitivity labeling, end-to-end encryption, and real-time access monitoring.”

RapidMiner.
RapidMiner is an “enterprise-ready data science platform” that is easy enough to learn for any level of users, according to its site. It’s best used in tandem with their program Altair in order to change and simplify how you do business analytics.

Domo.
Domo is a platform that boasts “limitless possibilities” with the ability to “integrate data from anywhere”. With users like Comcast, eBay, and ESPN, you too can turn your real-time data into beautiful visuals that tell a story of where you’ve been and where you’re heading.

Sisense.
Sisense “infuses analytics everywhere” with its AI and machine learning capabilities that don’t require expert understanding. Their platforms allow you to customize your experience in order to meet your specific needs for an automatic workflow.

Tableau & Tableau Public.
Tableau has its own online community for members to make connections and learn from one another. Tableau also boats a premium customer base of Charles Schwab, Whole Foods Market, and Verizon. They use their AI-driven analytics and predictions to create their CRM Analytics, allowing their systems to figure out trends more quickly. They claim to be “the world’s #1 CRM”.

Qlik Sense.
With users like Honda, Samsung, and DocuSign, it’s easy to see why the big guys love to use Qlik Sense. They are another tool that uses beautiful data visualization for easy understanding and creates reports for gaining business insight quickly.

MicroStrategy.
MicroStrategy describes itself as “Disruptive Analytics.” They are meant for centering only on what is important and cutting out all the extra nonsense. They are “not just a pretty dashboard, but an entire data experience”.

SAS.
SAS is a long-time leader and player in the analytics games. It’s already popular among medical businesses, and now they have just “reinvented analytics. Again” with their augmentation and democratization. Their multi-persona DSML platform allows support for various technical and even non-technical roles.

Board.
Board has a platform that they claim is “future-proof” and also promises “out-of-the-box” solutions to your business problems. Their architecture is flexible and can do anything from data integrations to planning models, and reports.

Splunk.
Splunk is great when it comes to trusting a platform with tight security. With over 2,400 unique apps/add-ons and over 1,000 unique data integrations, their Cloud platform provides “insights for peta-byte-scale data analytics” and can process data in milliseconds. 

Learn more about business analytics.

Most of the business analytics tools we’ve listed above offer a free demo for you to check out and experiment with to see which platforms best fit your personal needs. Check out the Business Analytics Nanodegree to gain foundational data skills applicable to any industry. Collect and analyze data, model business scenarios, and communicate your findings with various business analytics tools.

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Jennifer Shalamanov
Jennifer Shalamanov
Jennifer is a content writer at Udacity with over 10 years of content creation and marketing communications experience in the tech, e-commerce and online learning spaces. When she’s not working to inform, engage and inspire readers, she’s probably drinking too many lattes and scouring fashion blogs.