As technology is improving itself with continuous upgrades, it has led to the birth of using software without installing it on your device, such service is known as Software as a Service (SaaS). With the introduction of such services in the market, there is also a demand for business stats to appear in real-time. Through these technological advancements, there is a new service appearing for analytics known as Analytics as a Service (AaaS).
Understanding Analytics
The term analytics is understood as a process where the data is collected, churned according to the organization’s needs, and the result is later communicated with significant insights to different departments of the organization.
Analytics as a Service (AaaS)
Every business needs to organize their data and improve their overall performance. Analytics as a Service (AaaS) is a service, that is needed by companies to gain insights. It is a subscription-based service that offers valuable insights to a business from the raw data, which a hired service provider collects from the business, and presents it in the form of charts for a clearer understanding of business operations.
In general, analytics service providers helps businesses analyze their data, and present it in such a way, that even people of non-IT profiles can understand the insights and take measurable actions relating to the desired assignment.
But Why is it Important to a Business
Since we understand the meaning of analytics, let us understand the use cases where a business is receiving help from Analytics as a Service (AaaS).
Retail Analysis
Analytics has developed the retail business. With data collected from customer interactions, mobile-POS systems, purchase receipts, product preferences, and visit timings, etc. the retail stores/businesses can better understand the user base.
Churning data manually could sometimes be an inefficient process. To save time, money and effort, businesses like retail stores hire third-party services like Analytics as a Service (AaaS) that presents the data with precise detail. Thus, Analytics as a Service (AaaS) for retail businesses is the perfect solution.
Hospitality Solution
The hospitality industry has also been moving to the peak as an exceptionally large amount of data that was sitting idle with them has come to its proper use since analytics has put foot in this industry.
The data that is captured by businesses in this industry help in understanding the target customers by the user’s room preferences, and the services they prefer like complimentary breakfast, internet access, minibar in the room, and the modes of payments. This helps businesses to map out innovative and customized initiatives and offers for user attraction.
Price Management Solution
We have all seen e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Alibaba change the price of products at different times. Well, all these companies are backed by analytics that has saved huge amounts of user data which is helpful in providing competitive prices.
Here, Analytics as a Service (AaaS) enables businesses to build very precise and personalized pricing strategies based on user exploration and buying patterns.
Advantages of Analytics as a Service
The advantages of implementing analytics as a service are as follows:
Allow equal competition:
Small and medium-sized businesses have to daily deal with the customers and
maintain their loyalty. With Analytics as a Service (AaaS), businesses in any
sector can now use big data to examine the business performance, and campaign
strategy, and supply responsive customer support.
Thus, Analytics as a Service (AaaS) assists to level equal competition between small, medium, and large-sized organizations. But it is to be kept in mind that with increasing demand for Analytics as a Service (AaaS), the prices for such services also vary. This means that implementing Analytics as a Service (AaaS) can be based on a business’ pockets.
Make Better Decisions
Analytics as a Service (AaaS) aims to end slow decision-making, which can sometimes be very frustrating. It helps businesses take quick decisions which helps every leader and employee at times of crisis.
From the beginning, poor planning and implementation have been a communal problem for startups and even for big organizations. With Analytics as a Service (AaaS), organizations can make well-informed decisions that can improve the customer experience and help businesses keep their brand loyal customers and level up operational efficiency.
Boost Business Performance:
In our world, change is a continuous process. Businesses that have failed once may not come into the market with the same product/strategy. If you have previously launched a product that did not do good in the industry, it does not imply that your current service with a changed strategy would also fail.
Understood thus, Analytics as a Service (AaaS) would never be disappointing. It helps organizations to perform based on surveys that help them in understanding the consumer market expectations and their needs.
Challenges with Analytics as a Service
Here are some challenges that come with Analytics as a Service (AaaS):
Security
There are organizations that worry about their sensitive data and think that the data might not be safe if transferred to the cloud. It is no doubt that the companies are afraid and hesitant, but it also depends on the service provider.
It is advised that organizations must pay attention to alternatives that follow strong security protocols for data protection. Therefore, companies should focus on alternatives that conform to the tightest security procedures.
Management
Sometimes it becomes a challenge to manage the files that were earlier present in the physical form and now must be kept according to a specific format, else the whole data set might be rejected by the service even because of a small error.
It must be kept in mind that the service opted for business serves the desired need and does not cause severe changes in the functioning of the business.
Budget
It is tempting to take advantage of those services offered at a low cost, but it is to be remembered that not all things come with warnings. Sometimes a costly and out-budget software service may not be able to provide much help which budget-friendly software can do.
It is suggested that the organizations must consult within the departments whether they should switch for an expensive service and whether opting for that service be of benefit or not.
Conclusion
Analytics as a Service (AaaS) plays a significant role for up and coming businesses who are staying up to date with industry trends. It is always good that an organization thinks about its performance and growth. But, there should always be parameters set in the mind of the decision-makers of the organization. The selected service (AaaS) helps in managing the above-mentioned parameters which can be easily understood with the basic version of the service. Now, it is the business’ decision to either stick to the basic version or move to a higher version.
