Data Analysis Week 5 Notes

Business Intelligence Overview
Business intelligence refers to a collection of mathematical models and analysis methods that utilize data to produce valuable information and insight for making important decisions.

Main Components of Business Intelligence System:

• Data Source
• Data Mart / Data Warehouse
• Data Exploration
• Data Mining
• Optimization
• Decisions

Data Source
The first step is gathering and consolidating data from an array of primary and secondary sources.

Data Mart / Data Warehouse
Through the utilization of extraction and transformation tools, also known as extract, transform, load (ETL), data is acquired from various sources and saved in databases designed specifically for business intelligence analysis. These databases, commonly known as data warehouses and data marts, serve as a centralized location for the gathered data.

Data Exploration
The third level of the pyramid offers essential resources for conducting a passive analysis in business intelligence.

Data Mining
The fourth level, known as active business intelligence methodologies, focuses on extracting valuable information and knowledge from data. We will delve into various techniques such as mathematical models, pattern recognition, machine learning, and data mining.

Optimization
As you ascend the pyramid, you'll encounter optimization models that empower you to choose the most optimal course of action among various alternatives, which can often be quite extensive or even endless. These models have also been effectively incorporated in marketing and logistics.

Types of Users of Business Intelligence
Analyst (Data Analyst or Business Analyst): They are the statistician of the company, they used BI on the basis of historical data priorly stored in the system.
Head or Manager of the Company: Head of the company uses Business Intelligence used to increase the profitability of their company by increasing the efficiency in their decisions on the basis of all the knowledge they discovered.
Small Business Owners: Can be used by a small businessman because it is quite affordable too.
**Government Officials: **In the decision-making of the government.

Types of Decisions Supported by Business Intelligence
Strategic Level: The strategic level is the level where the Heads of the company decide the strategies of any business.
Tactical Level: Once the strategy is made though for handling all the details and matters have a tactical level where all the technologies and methodologies come under one umbrella. This level is further responsible for continuously updating the data.
**Operational Level: **Operation decisions are made at this level. Operational decisions help in operating the system.

Power BI

Power BI is a Microsoft-powered business intelligence tool that helps transform raw data into interactive dashboards and actionable insights. It allow users to connect to various data sources, clean and shape data and visualize it using charts, graphs and reports all with minimal coding.

What is Power BI Used For?
Power BI is a tool that helps you understand your data better. you can:

• Bring in data from different places like Excel files, SQL databases, CSVs, JSON files and even websites.
• Clean and fix your data easily without writing code.
• Create visuals like bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and dashboards to help you see patterns and trends.
• Analyze your data using filters and slicers, so you can focus on specific details like sales by region or product performance over time.
• Share your dashboards with your team or clients so everyone stays informed and can explore the data on their own.
• Set up automatic updates so your reports always show the latest information without you having to do anything.

Key Components of Power BI

Power BI Desktop: This is the free version you can install on your computer. It lets you connect to data, clean it and create reports.
Power BI Service: This is the online version. You can upload your reports here share them with others and view them from anywhere using the internet.
Power BI Mobile: There are mobile apps for iOS and Android and you can use them to see and interact with your reports on your phone or tablet.
Power BI Gateway: This helps you to connect data from your own company’s servers to Power BI and you can use that data in your reports and dashboards.
Power BI Report Server: This provide companies to keep and share Power BI reports on their own private server instead of using the cloud.
Power BI Embedded: It allow businesses to add Power BI reports into their own apps or websites. People can view the reports without opening Power BI separately.

Tips for Using Power BI Effectively
Learn DAX for Advanced Calculations: DAX is a formula language that can help you perform advanced calculations. If you want to create more complex analytics learning DAX is a good idea.
Master Power Query: Power Query helps you to prepare your data. The more you learn about it the more efficient your workflow will be.
Stay Organized: When you create more reports it's important to keep things organized by giving fields, calculations clear and descriptive names.
Explore Templates: It has many templates for different industries. Use them to get started quickly and spark new ideas for your own reports.

7 Benefits of Microsoft Power BI:

1. Easy to Connect Data
2. Provides Data Governance and Security
3. Artificial Intelligence Integration
4. Allows Users to Build Personalized Dashboards and Interactive Reports Easily
5. Offers Familiar Excel Integration
6. Affordable and Cost-Effective
7. Provides Monthly Updates

Power Query Editor in Power BI

Power Query Editor is a tool in Power BI Desktop used for data transformation and preparation. It allow to connect, shape and transform multiple data sources according to the user's needs. After making the desired changes the transformed data is then loaded to the Power BI desktop to fetch final outputs and reports. It can be in two modes as desktop or online.