The 10 Best Data Analytics Software Tools
Data has replaced oil as the world’s most valuable resource. It’s easy to see why. Data can help businesses make smarter decisions and keep growing.
Of course, collecting data isn’t enough to make more insightful business decisions. To get the most out of your data, you need to have the right analytics.
You have plenty of software choices when it comes to data analytics. How can you be sure you’re getting the best data analytics software on the market?
You can use this guide to the top 10 entries. With one of these data analytics tools on your side, you can’t go wrong.
1. IBM Offers Two Product Lines
IBM has long been a pioneer in the realm of artificial intelligence. Their Watson program created Deep Blue, the first AI to best a human chess player. They’ve been going strong since.
It shouldn’t be any surprise that the company is a leader in handling massive amounts of data in an efficient way. That’s why their Cognos Analytics platform is one of the best available on the market today.
It’s a self-service platform that allows you to measure specific KPIs and create beautiful reports with ease.
If you’re looking for something more structured, the Watson product line may be more of what you’re looking for. It supports natural language queries, as well as automatic pattern detection.
Any of IBM’s BI products can run on the IBM cloud or on your own premises.
2. ROSALIND Is a Scientific Solution
Rosalind by Onramp Bioinformatics is an analytics platform specifically for the scientific sector. If you’ve ever had a scientists ask what they’re supposed to do with a CVS file, this is the solution for you.
It’s accessible anytime, anywhere, which makes it an excellent tool for collaboration. It also allows you to easily visualize even the most complex of scientific data.
Most of all, it’s reinventing the discovery process in scientific labs around the world.
3. Microsoft Has Unique Features
Microsoft delivers their flagship analytics platform, Power BI, over their Azure Cloud network. You can also arrange for an on-premise setup.
Power BI is unique among data analytics software, because it allows users to complete a whole range of tasks. With it, you can:
- Prepare data
- Engage in data discovery
- Create dashboards
All these features work through the same design tool. As an added bonus, Power BI integrates with Excel and Office 365. If you’re already using these tools, then you should find Power BI is a natural extension.
The Power BI user community is also very active and provides extensions for the tool’s capabilities.
4. Qlik Offers a Full View of Data
Do you need a tool for making beautiful reports or something that integrates with ease? No matter what, Qlik has a solution for you.
The company’s flagship is Qlik Sense, which lets you combine your data sources into a single view. The Analytics Platform gives you the ability to develop, extend, and embed visuals in other apps and portals.
This gives you more freedom when it comes to leveraging your data. Qlik also uses machine learning and AI to enhance data mining operations.
Better yet, Qlik runs on almost any cloud platform, so you can adopt it without needing overhaul your existing infrastructure. It’s also proven technology that’s been around for two decades, and the company keeps innovating.
5. Salesforce Will Make You Feel Like Einstein
Salesforce is one of the leading SaaS platforms for sales teams. Given how much data is collected in the platform, it’s not surprising the company has also developed an analytics platform.
The products in this category are called “Einstein,” and they’ll make you feel like a genius as you use them. Transparent and understandable AI models enable you to answer your most burning questions easily.
The platform also adapts to almost any role, in any industry. That way, you can get tailor-made analytics and information for more precise recommendations. Third-party app integrations, customizable templates, and more round out the experience.
6. SAP Offers a Wide Range of BI Tools
SAP BusinessObjects BI, SAP Crystal Solutions, and SAP Analytics Cloud form a flexible suite of products. These solutions can help everyone from an individual business user to enterprises.
The products are deployed from SAP’s HANA Cloud. Data discovery is available via the BusinessObjects solution. Visualization is available from the Lumira tool set.
A wide range of other data analytics tools round out SAP’s offerings, making it one of the more robust BI platforms out there.
7. SAS Makes Data Analysis Look Good
If you want to visually explore your data, look no further than SAS Visual Analytics. It allows you to automatically highlight relationships, clusters, and outliers.
Autocharting and guided analysis make it easy for even inexperienced users to navigate. It also integrates with SAS Viya, Visual Data Mining, and Machine Learning.
Don’t be fooled into thinking Visual Analytics is all show, though. SAS has made its name on advanced analytics. Visual Analytics can pull data from plenty of sources and handle complex models too.
8. Sisense Is Data Analysis Simplified
Data analytics is often the realm of IT specialists and data scientists. As businesses look to democratize their data, platforms like Sisense have a distinct edge.
The platform makes it simple for just about anyone to use. You don’t need to know any scripting, and you won’t need any help from IT.
Sisense will still deliver insightful and actionable information for your business. It also handles large amounts of data, as well as data from several different sources.
9. Tableau’s Software Goes Everywhere
Desktop, Server, Online, and Data Management make up the products in the Tableau software suite. It’s regarded as a major player in the BI sphere, and for good reason. Tableau offers both powerful analytics and beautiful visualizations.
It’s easy to use and integrates with other platforms, which makes sharing data simple. It also draws data from different sources.
10. Zoho Is a Great Self-Service Platform
Last but not least, there’s Zoho. This self-serve platform lets you pull data together from a wide variety of sources. You can then create cross-functional reports and dashboards.
It also features a drag-and-drop designer and a “smart” assistant. Sharing and publishing reports is quick and easy. Smart alerts can let you know when anomalies occur.
The Best Data Analytics Software Will Take You Further
These are just some of the best data analytics software entries on the market today. There are plenty of other options out there. These ten picks should suit most businesses and even some more specialized needs.
Looking for more advice on the best software for your business? We have plenty in stock. Take a look through the archives and check back often for more great insights!