2021 International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Knowledge Economy (ICCIKE)
March 17–18, 2021, Amity University Dubai, UAE
Modeling Business Intelligence Process: Toward
Smart Data-Driven Strategies
2021 International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Knowledge Economy (ICCIKE) | 978-1-6654-2921-4/20/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICCIKE51210.2021.9410804
Anas Najdawi
Faculty of Management –Business Analytics
Amity University Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
anas.najdawi@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2485-2465
Abstract— This paper aims to provide an updated
conceptualization of the Business Intelligence Process in general
and how the operational data are transformed into valuable
insights to enhance business processes design and achieve
strategic competitive advantage. The current research will
review previous studies on effectively adopting and
implementing data-driven strategies for intelligent decision-
making using emerging technologies such as Applied Artificial
Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Big Data Analytics. This
work's contribution will be an updated conceptual framework
of the modern Business Intelligence Process constructed using
the concept mapping tool. Such a conceptual framework will
provide a fresh look into future research projects in this area
and help BI practitioners and organizations plan, develop, and
implement big data strategies to gain a competitive advantage in
decision-making and innovation over their competitors.
Additionally, this paper explores the process of Intelligent
Business decisions, the various tools, techniques used for making
an Intelligent Business decision.
Keywords- Intelligent Business Process, Business Analytics,
Decision Making Process, Big data Analysis, artificial
intelligence, Machine Learning, Concept Map.
I. INTRODUCTION
Decisions in a business are the realm of a coin, and each
decision is an opportunity ceased or lost based on its
consequences. Each decision made or missed depicts the
performance of the company [1]. It is not significant to a
particular industry but all of them. It is not vital to have a smart
strategy; without taking the right decisions at the right time
and execute them effectively, that will lead to losing the share
of customers' wallets and minds [2].
Businesses take strength from diverse forces: the growing
intelligence of computers that take leverage from big data,
which lays a foundation for processing and analysis business
decisions using emerging technologies such as Artificial
Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Big Data
Analytics [3]. The other is the growing human intelligence
and capabilities of the human brain and understanding of
reasoning, judgment, and decisions that a human mind is
capable of making in various situations [4] [5] [6].
Business Intelligence analysis is one of several business
process improvement approaches [7]. It uses historical data,
and various other forms of data collected by the Business from
various sources and processes it to find valuable insights that
978-1-6654-2921-4/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE
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Sree karan Patkuri
Faculty of Management-Business Analytics
Amity University Dubai
Dubai, UAE
sreekaranP@amitydubai.ae
could be turned into a decision. A few of such forms of
competitive approaches to help businesses make better
decisions are six sigma, business restructuring [8], core
process redesign, business process improvement, and
continuous improvement to optimize costs, quality, flexibility,
efficiency, and service [7].
This delighting yet complicated process of making a
decision need to be simplified more for decision-makers [1].
This need to be done in a correct way using the right set of
tools and process in combination with human intelligence and
computer intelligence algorithms that is the AI, ML, and
predictive analytics applications and the algorithms that drive
them [3]. Many factors impact strategy formulation that must
be taken into consideration by the decision-makers in a
straightforward and dynamic manner.
Tools such as Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, and Altryx.
are widely used amongst organizations for strategy
development and implementation [9]. These tools use Al
programs that provide for visualizing the Business data,
provide strategic choices, present them in an interactive and
understandable form so that Intelligent Business decisions can
be taken.
These tools have advanced AI optimization where they can
perform Natural Language Processing [10] that allows the
users to all questions to the data, and the output is given in the
form of an answer. Which makes it easier for performing
advanced analytics and take SMART data-driven decisions.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
A. computational intelligence-based intelligent business
intelligence system: concept and framework
The research of [11] focuses on the data collected from
various sources in the organization has been used for the
purpose of generating insights. The Business intelligence tools
used in the organizations are very competent; some lack
visualization, some lack predictive analysis. This paper
focuses on developing a better framework than the existing
tools for the process of business intelligence.
B. Intelligent business analytics — a tool to build decision-
support systems for eBusinesses
This research [12] presents consideration related to wider
fields where IT can use to make smarter decisions and
provides The paper presents some of the characteristics and
 2021 International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Knowledge Economy (ICCIKE)
March 17–18, 2021, Amity University Dubai, UAE
possibilities of such information technology support in the
function of improving the quality of managerial decision-
making.
C. The intelligent industry of the future: A survey on
emerging trends, research challenges and opportunities
in Industry 4.0
In the work of [1] analyzes business analytics tools have
been used as a reactive tool, the competition in the market
requires a fundamental change in the way data is used in the
enterprise, from a reactive manner to a proactive manner.
Employee informal learning instances [2] are not being
recorded; these are the most valuable insights that can be
learned by employees. This paper proposed a methodology to
facilitate the identification and recognition of employees'
informal learning instances, which receive support from a
technological framework.
III. THE PROCESS OF INTELLIGENT BUSINESS DECISION
Intelligent business decisions can be made possible by
using a combination of concepts, processes, using the help of
tools that can give insights based on the historical data [9], that
is collected from various sources in the organization (internal
data) and outside the organization (external data) [13].
The journey of data, from the source of collection to
becoming knowledge, that is taken as actionable insight to
make a decision, is the process of business intelligence [14].
Every Business must create actionable insight. In general,
businesses use tools such as Customer Relation Management
(CRM) [14], Supply chain management (SCM), Enterprise
Resource Management (ERP) [14] to initially form
operational data that is collected and saved in the data server
for further usage. This data that is collected is called internal
data. Various external sources also provide data, such as
market research firms, competitor Intelligence, magazines,
which are considered to be external data.
The process in which the data gets processed so that an
actionable insight can be derived from it and a decision can be
taken based on the data's insights. The data from external and
internal sources will be collected in the server, from which the
data analysts pull required information; this process is called
extract, transform, and Load (ETL) [14]. In this process, the
data acquired will be extracted from the server, and the data
will be cleaned. Such a step means the data that is not
necessary for analysis will be eliminated, and the remaining
data will be loaded into the program/ algorithm or software
that will perform further analysis). In the next step, the data
would be stored in a Data warehouse that is accessible by
selected people only. Then it would be analyzed by applying
analytical tools such as OLAP, OLTP [15], and data
visualization tools that would make data into information that
can give us insights, and this insight will be taken for the
process of decision making[6].
Some of the various tools that can used in businesses that
allow improving the enterprise systems applications such as
Enterprise Resource Planning Systems(ERPs), Supply Chain
Management Systems (SCMs), and Customer Experience
Management Systems (CXMs) as follow:
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1) Tally ERP: allow to manage an unlimited no of
companies integrates with the tax policies of the country, and
make it easier to access business reports.
2) The Oracle SCM: the advantage of this advanced
System is optimized payment and business processes, which
allows extending the scope of the Business; additionally, it
allows managing supply chain activities via the cloud,
product lifecycles management, procurement, order
management. All of this can be performed in a cloud from
anywhere in the world.
3) Customer Experience Management (CXM): Amongst
the latest trends of social media management, for business
purposes the CXM has gained importance. Advanced Tools
like Sprinklr, Hootsuite, and Khoros, [16] [14] are being
used. These advanced tools collect data from social
platforms. They process these data by running advanced
analytic and allowing to understand the customer experience
and predict the customers' next purchase.
Most of the Application Systems embeds several analytics
algorithms [10] [5] can be used for advanced analytics and
processing collected data, as presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Showing Al &ML algorithms with the purpose
Algorithm Purpose
Linear Regression Used to predict the dependence of a
dependent variable on the independent
variable.
Logistic Regression Will your customer purchase again, is
your Customer worthy of selling
products on credit, etc.
Classification& Regression Cumulation of many simple decision
Trees (random forest)
trees to form a complex tree of
possibilities which allows you to predict
the outcome of an activity.
K-nearest Mean Finding similar items, e.g., market
basket analysis.
K-Means- clusters Categorizing similar items.
Time series analysis Predict how assets, securities, etc.
change over time
IV. HOW CAN COMPANIES TAKE INTELLIGENT
BUSINESS DECISIONS(IBD)
Intelligent enterprises, as they are called, those firms that
have integrated human intelligence with information
Technology (IT) provided insights to make smarter choices
during complex and uncertain times [17]. There is an urgent
need for businesses to create a sustainable competitive edge
over their rival to succeed in the long run. One such way to do
so is by taking decisions backed by insights from historical
data. Thanks to big data, predictive analytics, and forecasting
techniques that have shaped the future of decision-making in
this information era [17] [18].
The major steps managers could use to win the war over
the Customer's share of wallet and mind is explained in the
following subsections.
 2021 International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Knowledge Economy (ICCIKE)
March 17–18, 2021, Amity University Dubai, UAE
A. Define the process/ problem:
A well-defined process can be measured and be improved.
The factors that are affecting the process or the output shall
also be taken into consideration. [15]The simple way to so is
by having a simple and easy to understand equation of Lean
Six Sigma as follow:
𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥1 + 𝑥2 + 𝑥3 + ⋯ + 𝑥𝑁)
 Where: Y= the output
 X= the factors that affect the output.
B. Allocate analytical support:
According to SunTzu's principles of the art of war, it is
essential to allocate the right resources to win the battle. In
Business, it is essential to allocate proper analytical support
for those static problems or those that do not have a higher
degree of uncertainty [1] [2]. Using statistical prediction
models and human judgment alongside will be the best
combination in making better decisions. For example, the
decision to buy the inventory for the next six months and
allocate the budget for the next fiscal year can be performed
using predictive analytic models. An appropriate decision can
be taken [19].
C. Conduct forecasting incidents:
Forecasting events bring together different minds to
predict the company's performance from employees of various
levels of the organization along with their methodology that
would be translated into probability and track which one is
most accurate. This would ensure employee engagement as all
the employees would be curious and would be encouraged to
work for the success of the organization [13].
Using various analysis techniques such as time series
analysis, Hypothesis Testing, and Regression analysis would
allow you to perform a forecast-related decision for the
organization.
D. Using Artificial Intelligence systems:
Computers can gain an edge over human intelligence using
historical data. In scenarios that have data, computers can
inevitably outsmart human intelligence by being data-driven.
When tasks need human intervention and those that do not
have data to back up, then the human decision is needed [9].
E. Transform Organizational Operations:
As technology advances, the organizations became
smarter and equipped with data-driven knowledge, and this
enables them to take decisions and transform organizational
activity that will be in line with improving organizational
productivity and profitability. Using AI and ML algorithms
will enable the firms to be more advanced, grow with
emerging technology and outsmart the competition [14].
V. DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM
The decision support system (DSS) [20] [21] [12] is the
technology behind an intelligent decision-making process.
The DSS, combined with an increased understanding of
human cognition and the judicial process, is the recipe for an
intelligent business decision [15]. The layer of analysis is the
powerful step in which most of the data is transformed into
value. The analysis layer that comprises OLAP and OLTP
[11] methods and the data visualization techniques will collect
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the data into the data warehouse where the users are given a
number of different ways to look at the data, and this will
create insights from the data. The insights that are created are
the crucial part and the basis of an intelligent decision.
The DSS systems provide both problems [12] solving and
communication capabilities to those working towards solving
a problem or deciding; the DSS [2] supports this process by
providing information or making suggestions concerning the
problem. The DSS systems are run by a set of instructions
given as a program to process the data and support the process
by providing information; this program has its advantages and
limitations.
Advantages of DSS include the improved velocity of
decision making as the System already provides all the
information. Increases the competitiveness of decision-
making, allowing for intelligent business decisions. Supports
new learning from the data, and constant improvising the data
yields better and SMART results. Automates managerial
processes so that the resources can be focused on by the value
creation of the Business as the minor managerial tasks are
automated. While the limitation of DSS can be of the DSS is
that it cannot handle inconsistent knowledge, and they apply
the same logic to all the data. They cannot apply human
judgment or intuition.
VI. FUTURE SCOPE OF SMART STRATEGIES
Data has become a significant metric to measure and
deliver value in every field. The use of data has better practices
and more accurate planning, delivering better results for
businesses. Data starts impacting us from the time even before
you start your day, measuring the hours of sleep you had, to
no: of steps each day to major metrics like how many google
searches are processed in one minute over the world.
The data is collected for being processed and create
valuable insights for the Business; some of the best areas of
scope of data collection are:
A. The collection of payments data:
With the technological advances that have already been
experienced by the consumers, it has become easy for
Businesses to drill down to who exactly their Customers. The
payment data of that Customer can be collected from the
merchant vendors, which is of great value to the businesses
[22], they can be grouped with other data such as
demographic, geographic, etc. So you can have a clear
understanding of how the consumer is purchasing.
B. Collecting consumer data for optimizing sales.
All the retailers have already started collecting their
consumers' data for the purpose of analysis, yet the scope [13]
of this data is vast. This data can be used to analyze regular
analysis such as market basket analysis, customer experience,
etc. The problem that is at the front of every retailer is; they
want to have a knowledge of who is the next Customer [23]
who is going to walk into their store, what are their preference,
and how to they get a good customer experience when they
are with them. This can be achieved by analyzing
The customer data, combine it with their other purchases,
make a predictive analysis of what would be their next
wanting and serve them that experiences.
.
 2021 International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Knowledge Economy (ICCIKE)
March 17–18, 2021, Amity University Dubai, UAE
Fig 1: Proposed framework for Intelligent Business Decision
C. Analyzing Customer Social experiences:
There are many advanced tools such as Octoparse,
Dexi.io, Outwit Hub, and Sprinklr. that allow performing
customer sentiment measurement, target market
segmentation, online brand management. This allows getting
knowledge of how the customers are thinking and talking
about your brand, and the data provided would allow you to
make the decision based on them
Figure 1 is a representation of a proposed framework of
collecting business intelligence where the data collected from
internal and external sources will be first sent to a data
warehouse for the purpose of data preparation; here, the data
is prepared for the use of analysis by the process of extraction,
transforming, loading (ETL) of the data. The prepared data
gets value added by adding external data collected from the
vendors, suppliers, and other stakeholders. The external data
is the data from the vendors such as payment gateway
companies who have the data of the customers/ suppliers, and
they can use it as an insight to make holistic information that
we are trying to elicit knowledge from. The above framework
conceptual model adds a more precise understanding of the
business intelligence process using relevant tools,
technologies, and emerging related topics.
VII. CONCLUSION
The following steps would allow the organization to
become an intelligent enterprise that takes intelligent business
decisions. Business decisions are typically based on various
data sources that organizations rely upon, such data that is
collected from various sources internally and externally. Most
business decisions are static which means, they are affected
by certain factors that we are already aware of, and managing
or controlling those factors would ensure the results would be
as intended; for this kind of operations the predictive models
of statistics, the bootstrapping activities would easily aid in the
better decision making of the organizations. The other
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situation, where the factors that affect the problem that we are
trying to solve or the outcome the Business is expecting are
uncertain, at this situation the business decision can be made
by a combination of human intellect as well as the insights
provided by the computer program, ML algorithm would take
in the data and specific analysis or prediction models can be
performed so it gives the possible outcomes that we can rely
up on to decide along with the human intelligence.
This paper explores some possible steps one can take to
make an intelligent enterprise driven by data and ensure to
take the right decision at the right time. This data collected and
analyzed provides actionable insights for the organization,
how software or IT support can be used in the business
decision-making process. The majority of the data that is
being collected from various sources is not being processed
well. The fields or categories of data from which the data can
be used for immediate decision-making are only processed.
There is immense potential for data that is not being
processed to be combined with the present data, and human
intelligence would make truly intelligent business decisions.
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March 17–18, 2021, Amity University Dubai, UAE

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