Consumers generate a huge amount of data about their preferences, experiences and activities that businesses can analyze to improve their products and services to match customer demands. The right analytics tool is crucial to achieving business goals like greater engagement, more sales, and more efficient operations.

When choosing a tool, begin by determining what kinds of data http://www.softwarehall.com/software-tools-you-definitely-need-to-use/ you want to integrate and how you plan to do it. Some tools are geared toward traditional enterprise reporting, while others are designed to assist you perform more sophisticated mathematical analysis or track sensitive information such as healthcare data. It is important to consider how the analytics tool you’re considering will integrate with your existing workflow and data structure.

Some tools offer an iterative experience for data scientists and sophisticated users, whereas others are designed to allow nontechnical or casual users to perform point-and-click analysis. You should also examine the tools for data visualization and the features offered by each tool. Certain tools are designed to create visual charts, while others require SQL or third-party tools in order to model the data prior to it being able to be analyzed.

After narrowing your choices down, consider the cost and also whether the software relies on subscription fees or software licenses. Some tools are free, whereas others require a substantial initial investment and ongoing maintenance costs. Make sure to compare these costs with the potential ROI from the information and efficiency gained using an analytics tool.