In today's data-driven business landscape, the ability to harness and interpret vast amounts of information is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. Recognising this imperative global tech company Zoho Corporation has launched a new version of Zoho Analytics—its self-service business intelligence (BI) and analytics platform. This latest release boasts over 100 enhancements, including powerful new artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities that enable diagnostic insights, predictive analysis, and automated report and dashboard generation.
Empowering businesses with data
As organisations grapple with increasing volumes of data, the need for intuitive and robust analytics tools has never been more pressing. Data is not just a byproduct of operations; it's a strategic asset that, when effectively analysed, can drive decision-making, uncover new opportunities, and optimise performance. Zoho Analytics aims to democratise data analytics by providing a platform that is powerful yet accessible to a broad range of users.
"I use Zoho Analytics for secure online reporting to multiple customers—nurses and midwives—in multiple countries," said Western Sydney University senior research officer Emma Elcombe.
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A vision realised through technological innovation
Zoho chief evangelist Raju Vegesna (pictured above) reflects on the company's journey in BI. "Zoho Analytics launched in 2009 as Zoho Reports, long before technology had caught up to Zoho's vision for business intelligence," he said. "Since then, Zoho has made considerable investments around automation, no-code/low-code development, third-party integration, machine learning, and Zia, Zoho's in-house AI engine. The latest version of Zoho Analytics is one of the first solutions from the company that takes advantage of every one of these decades-long investments. The result is a democratized platform that is powerful, intelligent, flexible, and simple to use."
Key enhancements in the new release
The latest iteration of Zoho Analytics advances across four key areas: data management, AI, data science & machine learning, and extensibility.
Data management
Zoho Analytics enhances data management by adding Stream Analytics and 25 new data connectors to its suite of over 500, enabling businesses to centralise data from diverse databases. Users can create and manage complex ETL (extract, transform, load) data pipelines using a visual builder for efficient data processing. The platform simplifies data transformation through natural language commands with Ask Zia, Zoho's AI copilot. An automatic versioning system and a new Sandbox environment allow for safe experimentation without impacting live data.
BI infused with Generative AI
Zia Insights now provides contextual, AI-powered automated insights, integrating decision intelligence directly into the platform. Ask Zia supports Spanish and French, enabling users to interact and build custom data models in three languages. The platform introduces AI-powered automated metrics, reports, and dashboard generation for quicker insights. Seamless integration with Open AI, enabled by Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), ensures more accurate and relevant query responses.
Data science and machine learning (DSML) studio
AutoML, a no-code assistant, allows users to build custom machine learning models with features like feature engineering, hyperparameter tuning, and comprehensive model analysis. Code Studio offers an integrated Python environment where users can create custom ML models or import external libraries, all executed within the platform.
Platform extensibility
BI Fabric consolidates insights from multiple BI platforms like Power BI and Tableau into one accessible and searchable analytics portal with fine-grained access permissions. Users can trigger workflows within Zoho Analytics, including URL and Webhook actions, and seamlessly integrate with Zoho Flow for over 500 app triggers. A no-code data connector builder lets users create custom connectors to import data from any custom application, with partners able to publish and sell connectors on Zoho Marketplace.
Pictured: Open AI Integration with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
The importance of data in the modern business world
In an era where data is often referred to as the new oil, the ability to effectively manage and analyse data is vital for businesses across all industries. Companies that leverage data analytics can make informed decisions, predict market trends, personalise customer experiences, and ultimately drive growth. Platforms like Zoho Analytics are instrumental in unlocking the potential of data, providing tools that transform raw information into actionable insights.
Zoho has remained committed to privacy, with more than 100 million users around the world, across hundreds of thousands of companies in its company owned and operated data centres. Zoho respects users’ privacy, does not have an ad-revenue model in any part of its business, and ensures complete oversight of its customers' data privacy and security..
The new version of Zoho Analytics is available now with over 100 new updates.
About Zoho Corporation
Zoho is a global technology company offering a comprehensive suite of business software applications. With a focus on innovation and customer-centric solutions, Zoho empowers businesses to achieve more with less.