Nowadays, big data is more important to businesses than ever. The main reason? Big data can provide invaluable insight to help businesses make data-driven decisions that lead to big growth. What’s more, companies both large and small can effectively leverage big data in order to become more successful. That’s why many companies are eager to implement business intelligence (BI) solutions to effectively make sense of data gathered.

BI continues to evolve with every new trend and technological innovation. And there’s no sign of it standing still anytime soon.

Check out the top four BI trends for 2018:

Applying AI to BI

Modern technology is focused on the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI). While tech experts continue experimenting with AI, many businesses have found a way to leverage this technology and power up their BI solutions. One reason businesses have started adopting AI adoption is its machine-learning capabilities. Simply put, businesses are able to gather and analyze data much more efficiently with the help of AI.

Using AI in BI solutions might just revolutionize the customer experience in the near future. In addition, automated tasks and data flow in real-time will allow business to make more precise decisions, while improving their overall potential.

AI is still in its relatively early stages of development, which means that AI algorithms are optimized for specific and narrow tasks. Even so, businesses can leverage AI’s potential—such as machine learning and natural language processing—to drive specific business goals.

Breaking Down Silos

Initial applications of BI solutions were typically handled by IT experts and data scientists to generate detailed reports using data gathered on monthly basis. Even when BI moved to web solutions and reports became more frequent, there was still an issue of data being placed in a silo. That is, information was sequestered and not widely distributed within companies.

Today, data governance and self-service are an essential aspect of a modern BI workflow. With enough flexibility, a BI solution can be used by any member of the company, regardless of his or her background or technological savvy. Simply put, with the right workflow and tools in place, everyone ranging from data scientists to warehouse workers can leverage data to make more informed decisions. Eventually, BI can help an organization scale and develop efficiently.

Leveraging Multi-Cloud Solutions

Normally, BI solutions are hosted on site, at a company’s premises. But this option can cost a business significant money and time—with its hardware and maintenance requirements. That’s why many companies have moved to cloud-based solutions. Cloud solutions offer lower costs, and enable greater data analytics, computing power and data storage.

Choosing more than one cloud provider can boost a company’s flexibility, uptime and security even more. Additionally, businesses that opt for multi-cloud solutions can select the best providers for each individual need. While multi-cloud solutions are gaining in popularity, businesses that consider implementing them should consider if the overhead costs will add value and real benefits for their organization.

Welcoming the Chief Data Officer

Companies that adopted early versions of business intelligence probably had chief information officer whose responsibility was to oversee security measures and data management. However, modern data growth and the increasing need for more efficient distribution of information across organizations has given birth to a new role: chief data officer (CDO).

A CDO’s responsibility is essentially to empower data-use across all company sectors, providing actionable and easy-to-use data for all employees. Moreover, a CDO’s role is to distribute analytics on all levels, so that the company can improve its performance and gain a competitive advantage using its BI solution.

Written for the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) by Raul Harman, editor in chief at Technivorz blog, where he writes on innovations in all aspects of digital technology and online marketing. Connect with him on Twitter.