5 Best Business Intelligence (BI) Tools For Startups

As a new business, it’s essential to have the right tools and resources to maximize your success. Investing in business intelligence tools can give you the insights needed to understand customer behaviors and make informed decisions.

From data analytics startups to data visualization services and platforms, numerous options help startups harness the power of their data. This blog post will explore five of the best business intelligence tools available today for startups looking to optimize operations and drive growth.

With these robust solutions, entrepreneurs can gain real-time visibility into customer interactions and trends within their organization – empowering them with the insights they need for smarter decision-making.

Read on for our top picks for business intelligence tools and how they are helpful.

How to choose the best BI tool for your startup

The information below will help you make the first pass – use it to quickly determine how BI tools could be a good fit for your startup, and assess each one in more detail based on the following criteria:

1. Workflow

The most crucial (and frequently ignored) criterion is whether or not your consumers enjoy using the BI tool. Many businesses look for a solution that fulfills all their requirements regarding features and functionality.

Finding a product that works with your users’ workflows is vital. It’s essential to overcome the data adoption problem and encourage individuals.

There are the most business-user-friendly BI tools we have on our list, but many applications can be found in more than one category. No-code and low-code user interfaces are relatively simple, and some examples are Google Data Studio, Metabase, Domo, and others.

2. Integration

Choosing the best business intelligence (BI) tool for your startup can be a daunting task. An integrated BI tool is essential for business growth and gaining insights into business performance, but finding the right combination of features, cost and integration can be complex.

Integration with business tools can help startups take advantage of their data while allowing them to build custom reports in a user-friendly environment.

With an integrated solution, businesses can combine multiple datasets from various sources, gain deeper insights, and display results in visually appealing formats, enhancing decision-making across all business operations.

The BI tool you choose for your firm interfaces with every component of your modern data stack, including your cloud data warehouse and SaaS applications. Even if a BI solution enables connectivity with your preferred technologies, remember that some are more effective than others.

3. Deployment

Some BI tools are vendor-agnostic, while others are cloud vendor-specific. There are advantages and disadvantages to adopting a tool locked into one vendor over another.

Utilizing a BI tool within that network can increase efficiency if your company has already made a sizable investment in one cloud vendor, platform provider, or application ecosystem.

You must decide whether to use an on-premises tool or a cloud-native solution while evaluating deployment. Even though there are many advantages to using cloud-native BI tools, some highly regulated and privacy-conscious sectors (including government and healthcare) still favor on-premises solutions.

4. Version control integration (Git)

Version management is a notoriously difficult (and annoying) process with BI systems. Version control integration will be a key feature if you have developers and analysts working on new dashboard versions while business end users are using them simultaneously.

It’s particularly essential if several engineers and analysts work concurrently on the same dashboard. Looker stands out in this regard since it features a version control system wholly integrated with Git, a version control system used extensively worldwide. Git features are accessible from within Looker, making it simple to utilize.

5. Permissioning structure

​​Review the permission structure of each BI tool to be sure it provides the granularity you require. The majority of firms prefer to limit certain data to specific people.

Permission structures comprise various elements, such as object-level security, role-based access controls, and row-level security (also known as RLS or data security) (RBAC).

When comparing the top BI tools for startups, RLS is a permissioning standard that is commonly mentioned. You should ensure that any linked dashboards, reports, and analytics will correctly apply the RLS rules you set.

6. Customization

Every startup has its own processes, requirements, and preferences. Data is a powerful tool, but only when employees have access to tools that let them use it within their current processes. You want a BI tool that can be configured in a way that will lead to broader adoption.

A few adjustments you can implement with your BI tool include (but are not limited to) altering query behavior, making unique data connections, and customizing/white-labeling the user interface.

Top 5 business intelligence tools startups would need today

1. Microsoft Power BI

Microsoft Power BI has topped Gartner’s Magic Quadrant rankings for BI solutions for the past ten years. The Power BI solution includes the cloud-based Power BI Service, the Power BI Report Server, and the Power BI Desktop, a free standalone Windows product.

The fact that Power BI is included with Office 365 Enterprise Edition is a tremendous benefit for businesses that have already made significant investments in the Microsoft/Azure/Office365 ecosystem.

It is a desirable option for startups utilizing Microsoft technologies due to its affordable pricing and extensive feature set. It offers extensive ML and analytics capabilities. Azure provides AI services for it.

The Power BI dashboards’ intuitive, simple user interface and detailed visualizations make them straightforward.

2. MagentaBi

Magenta Bi is business intelligence software that gives users access to in-depth information. The program uses cutting-edge technologies to guarantee corporate expansion and profitability.

This is accomplished by offering deep, comprehensible insights and encouraging quick and informed decision-making. Real-time reports, gap spotting, forecasts, and useful insights are all capabilities covered by MagentaBi.

MagentaBi offers 1-Click intelligent reporting on both Web and Mobile App both. This enables the immediate detection of gaps and the resolution of issues. Tools for pattern discovery can quickly identify gaps, which can then be closed to obtain a competitive edge.

It is a Business Intelligence Software that integrates with Tally, Busy, SAP B1, etc, and offers MIS Dashboards across Sales, Purchase, Inventory, and Payment.

3. QlikSense

Although it is aimed at businesses, Qlik is a versatile and scalable BI solution that can perform data analysis and visualization for many users. It has a compelling vision for its machine-learning products.

Qlik is completely cloud-based and quick and simple to set up. Non-technical individuals can easily undertake data analysis because of its AI features. Its user interface (UI) may not, however, be as visually intuitive to some users as other BI tools on our list.

If you’re serious about using this product, you should check Qlik’s pricing page for yourself because it is complicated. Analytical and BI features are included with a Qlik Sense license. Costlier add-ons include Qlik NPrinting, Insight Advisor Chat, and Qlik Catalog. Qlik hosts the Qlik Sense Business Data Analytics.

The monthly pricing for the Qlik-hosted Qlik Sense Business Data Analytics solution is $30 per user.

4. Dundas BI

For 25 years, Dundas BI has been a browser-based business intelligence application. Like Tableau, Dundas BI has a drag-and-drop functionality that enables consumers to conduct independent data analysis without contacting their IT team.

Through interactive dashboards, reports, and visual analytics, the technology is renowned for its simplicity and adaptability. It started out in 1992 as a tool for data visualization but has since developed into an all-encompassing analytics platform that can compete with the newest business intelligence solutions on the market today.

5. Tableau

Tableau is a well-liked BI product with a strong following. It offers a sleek drag-and-drop user interface that is effective and simple. To utilize Tableau, you don’t need to know how to script or program, which is a huge benefit for teams with minimal technical resources. Its mobile app provides almost the same functionality as the desktop version.

However, Tableau can be pricey. The cost is determined by the number of users (licenses), whether you choose to self-host with Tableau Server or use Tableau Cloud, and whether you employ add-ons like Embedded Analytics.

You should budget at least $70 per user each month when using Tableau. You’ll need Tableau Server, which is considerably more expensive, or Tableau Online if you want additional services like report sharing (which has more limited functionality).

You’ll need to construct rich and complex data sets with SQL knowledge to access the more sophisticated capabilities.

Explore business intelligence tools!

Business intelligence has radically changed in recent years and will continue to do so. As we move into [2024], there is no doubt that BI tools and technologies will only become more sophisticated and widely used by businesses of all sizes.

With the right BI tools, your company can gain a competitive edge, make better decisions, and improve efficiency and profitability. To stay ahead of the curve, it’s essential to keep up with the latest trends in business intelligence.

Author bio:
Vikas Mundhra, is the founder and CEO of Magenta Connect Pvt Ltd. He is a Chartered Accountant and known for his versatile experiences in SME. In 2018, along with Vikalp Somani, he started a production company when customized solutions were a trend in BI Space.

With MagentaBi, one-click intelligent reporting is available along with integration-ready integration with Tally, Busy, SAP B1, and much more accounting ERPs.

Vikas has also been instrumental in deepening and broadening the product portfolio of Magenta for a solution that solves the business problem end to end with integration with the existing ecosystem.