How Ad Hoc Analysis Saves Time

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if, instead of having to send out all analytics queries, you could just do analysis on your own, at any time? If you’ve always thought that sounds like science fiction, you’re not entirely wrong. The time has come, however, where this brave new world of analysis has actually come into its own. 

Ad hoc analysis opens whole new doorways for organizations wanting to get more from their data. For those who want to be able to run one-off reports at any time, and get actionable results almost instantly, ad hoc analysis is going to totally change your world. New business intelligence tools powered by artificial intelligence have the power to do what others have failed at in the past. Namely, they allow users without deep data expertise to run data analysis on their own, in real time. 

Having this kind of power can take enterprises to entirely new levels of operating efficiency. If it’s not obvious enough already, let’s look at how ad hoc analysis saves time. 

Less Time Between Questions and Insights

In just about every aspect of our lives, time can be exchanged for money. While this exchange might not always be worth our time, there’s always value in being able to use time more effectively. This is exactly what can be accomplished by those who use ad hoc analysis to its full potential. 

As already mentioned, ad hoc analysis provides a way for layman users to quickly get insights for one-off needs. In the past, getting these kinds of reports could have taken days or weeks, as it would have required sending a query off to the data team, and waiting for them to perform the analysis and send back the report. And after all that, there was no guarantee they would have given you what was actually required, if it was still timely at all. 

With ad hoc analysis, you don’t have to wait around for anything. Static visualizations for presentations can always be completely current. Furthermore, this opens opportunities for users to perform analysis where they otherwise might not have had the time before. These forces working together create a cycle of ever-greater adoption and results. 

More Benefits of Self-Service Analytics

As you can see, the time-saving element of ad hoc analysis is paramount to its value. All business owners should be able to see how this kind of technology can bring their operating efficiency to new highs. But this isn’t the only good thing about ad hoc analysis. Here are a few more things that make it a worthy tool for enterprises looking to use data more effectively:

• It helps democratize data – The democratization of data within enterprises has been one of the biggest trends of the past few years—and for good reason. When more people have the opportunity to use data—thanks to tools like ad hoc analysis—insights can grow right from their origins. 
• Grow a data culture – Segueing from the previous point, ad hoc analysis can help a data culture blossom within your organization. Why does this matter? Because organizations that thoroughly embrace data from top to bottom are going to be able to make more precise and agile decisions than those that avoid it. Over time, this can build material advantages when the internal company culture is geared toward best practices with data.
• More efficient workflows – Everyone wants their job to go smoothly. When ad hoc analytics are adopted by an organization, it helps both those who use them to generate reports, as well as the data analysts who can focus on other tasks. By improving workflows, everyone can do their best with much less friction to get in the way. 

As you can see, ad hoc analysis has a wide range of applications, of which saving time is front and center. Consider how adopting ad hoc analysis tools can make your organization be more effective. 

Gerald Bax

“Incurable internet trailblazer. Troublemaker. Explorer. Professional pop culture nerd.”