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What Are the Advantages of Business Intelligence on Cloud?

Laura M. Sands
Laura M. Sands

The advantages of business intelligence on cloud computing platforms include increased mobility, a decrease in the use of physical storage and greater business flexibility. Cloud computing uses innovative technology designed to help businesses run more effectively, which includes a heightened use of sturdy applications without the need for additional hardware. This further translates into the ability to provide faster customer service, greater international communication and may even decrease the amount of time needed to make important business decisions. Business intelligence on cloud platforms also allows business owners, employees clients and prospective clients greater and faster access to important information.

Business intelligence, also simply referred to as BI, is consistently improved upon as new technology is developed and released. By using a cloud platform for information storage as well as specialized computing, business owners and employees do not have to be tethered to a single location, but are able to access data from virtually anywhere in the world. Business intelligence on cloud platforms therefore creates greater options for collaboration while reducing travel time for meetings and document deliveries.

Cloud storage and applications can be accessed from any computer with access to it.
Cloud storage and applications can be accessed from any computer with access to it.

Cloud computing further reduces the need for purchasing new or updated hardware in order to store important business data. By utilizing business intelligence on cloud platforms, businesses can store entire databases on virtual platforms. BI and cloud computing may also be combined to increase information security as stored data can be regularly backed up and is better protected from fire, flood or physical theft.

As many cloud platforms supply business and personal users with personalized support, troubleshooting is often performed remotely. Often, this means that downtime is reduced when security threats are detected or when other data glitches occur. Many of these problems can be recognized and remotely dealt with immediately without need of a technician or specialist visiting a physical location to address computing issues or to recover sensitive information.

Increased and faster access to business intelligence on cloud platforms means that decisions can be made faster and clients can be serviced more efficiently. As BI helps to streamline entire business processes, cloud computing supports that effort by allowing access from mobile and portable devices, as well as desktop computing devices. Access to records, forms and other information is made more easily accessible to those who need it at virtually any time of the day or night. By utilizing business intelligence on cloud computing platforms, international partnerships and client relationships are also streamlined.

Discussion Comments

Azuza

@KaBoom - That does sound convenient. I think another great advantage is the fact that there isn't much chance of the date getting lost.

I remember my mom telling me this story about an office she worked at years ago. This was back when most information was stored on paper, not on computer. A pipe burst and flooded the whole office. They lost years and years of date and information.

It was a huge disaster for the office. But if they had been using cloud computing they would have had a backup!

KaBoom

I think the remote troubleshooting is the best part of cloud-based business computing. We use cloud computing at my office, and if we have problems we can call tech support and they remote in to our exact computer to solve the problem. It's really amazing!

letshearit

How safe is it to put all of your BI on cloud? Does it cost a lot extra to make sure all of the intellectual property is secure?

I have been reading a lot in the newspapers about how easy it is for hackers to get in and steal information from businesses that run normal computer systems. I am starting to wonder if using something like cloud just makes it easier for hackers to get access to sensitive information. I think it would be harder to protect a completely virtual data bank of files, than hard copies and things stored on computers you can actually disconnect from the Internet.

While I understand BI on cloud seems convenient, I just wonder how risky it is.

MrSmirnov

Having your business intelligence on cloud really makes it easier for employees to stay up to date and is excellent for those places that have a lot of employees scattered around the globe. It seems to me that nothing could be better than making sure that everyone has access to the same files right at the same time.

For the business I run having all of our business intelligence on cloud saves a lot on training costs. Individuals in my company are able to use applications provided to access BI without having to set it up themselves or worry about the fine details.

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    • Cloud storage and applications can be accessed from any computer with access to it.
      By: opolja
      Cloud storage and applications can be accessed from any computer with access to it.