How AWS Business Intelligence Tools Boosts Efficiency

How Amazon Handles Business Intelligence

There are many benefits from having data-intensive applications or business operations situated in the cloud.  Hardware and software are easier to procure, security is tighter, scaling is easier, and there are plenty of opportunities to save on costs and avoid other pitfalls of cloud-based hardware.  Users are provided AWS QuickSight for Business Intelligence more specifically and Amazon EMR for more general big data workloads.

AWS QuickSight

AWS QuickSight is an excellent service for data-driven business operations.  It makes it easier to send easy-to-understand dashboards and data visualizations to employees and different levels of an organization with information they can apply to their tasks.  Along with some default templates to work with, users can compile custom formats for dashboards using simple click-and-drag functionality.  There are plenty of options for how users can embed, implement into APIs, and utilize them in applications.  Because this is a serverless tool, it can scale endlessly to encompass tens of thousands of simultaneous users.

Enterprise Workloads

SPICE (super-fast, parallel, in-memory calculation engine) is what QuickSight will be used to crunch the numbers incredibly fast.  Additionally, it can receive data from a variety of compatible data source types and it can swiftly replicate data for running several calculations in parallel.  It also has built-in security features, extensive API capabilities, and can easily be shared with global partners sporting localization options in ten different major languages.

Embedded Analytics

The complicated process to embed an API has been significantly simplified in favor of single-click operation.  Without needing to procure additional servers or acquire infrastructure licensing, users can set up dashboards in wikis, portals, applications, and email reports.  Analytics can go so far as to provide better insight into anomalies and future forecasting or tailor answers for very specific questions.  Managing architecture and serverless operations is now much simpler, making it easier to isolate specific users, move dashboards, manage single sign-ons (SSOs), and automate deployments.

Adapts to User Needs

QuickSight uses machine learning to quickly adjust to the needs of the user.  It can find correlations in data, adjust to specific jargon from distinct industries, improves steadily with the number of questions asked, and faster.  It adds semantic data to datasets to reduce the amount of time needed to start asking questions.

Amazon EMR

EMR is what will help users scale these big workloads.  It is flexible, incredibly simple to use, and is compatible with different storage types from either the AWS catalog or otherwise depending on the need and functionality of an application.  Amazon EMR can procure any number of clusters, automatically configure them for specific frameworks, and provide extensive control to users on how to optimize them fully.

Open Source Applications

Clusters with EMR will automatically adapt to the users’ open-source applications of choice.  Open-source data tools from the Apache catalog are available but are mostly confined to Spark, Hadoop, and HBase.  Alternatively, Presto is an SQL query engine that is optimized for low-latency data analysis, also capable of supporting multiple operations.

Big Data Tools

Data scientists can get ample use out of EMR with its extensive support of deep learning and machine learning tools such as Hadoop applications.  For more specific cases, users can add specific libraries or tools through the use of bootstrapping.  Data analysts will frequently use the EMR Studio, Notebooks, and Hue for more interactive development, authorizing certain Apache jobs, and submitting SQL queries.  EMR provides a solid data pipeline for development and processing while simplifying data management and privacy significantly.

Internal Security Services

With the sensitive nature of the data being processed, there are a few options for how users can protect their data.  AWS Lake Formation allows the implementation of authorization policies for accessing databases, columns, and tables.  If Apache tools are preferred, EMR does allow the native integration of Apache Ranger to dictate how authorizations are distributed.  Apache Ranger does offer distinct controls for access at individual levels.  Then there is EMR’s User Role Mapper for users who are more familiar with the controls offered by AWS Identity Access Manager.  Permission configuration can be done either between individuals or groups of users.

Hybrid Infrastructure

AWS Outposts extends services, infrastructure, and APIs to virtually any data center, location, or physical infrastructure capable of hosting the necessary software.  Using the same Command Line Interface or Management Console for controlling the EMR, users can deploy using Outposts to whatever they need.

Efficient Data Processing

AWS provides a good number of tools a company could need if the company objectives required them to orient business structure around the cloud.  Amazon has already adapted their environment to process heavy workloads and massive amounts of data and it is possible to set up a work cycle to continuously process data at the end of a transaction or data gathered from customer interactions for further refining that cycle.  Adjustments can be made both more accurately and significantly faster compared to other business intelligence solutions.