Our 2018 business intelligence trends have arrived

Data rockstars are sketching out their 2018 strategic planning and wondering what to think about next. Is artificial intelligence going to make a bigger impact on your organization next year? Will new data roles in your organization elevate teams? What does your cloud strategy look like next year? At Tableau, these ruminations fuel our commitment to build the most innovative enterprise business intelligence solution.

To help kick start the new year, we surveyed Tableau’s brain trust and aggregated the top 10 business intelligence trends you should pay attention to in 2018. From our talented engineers to seasoned product managers, we narrowed down the business intelligence trends bound to go from idea to implementation.

Take machine learning. This technology continues to evolve from nascency to viability. With its promise of powerful automation, business intelligence teams are working hard to find the right way to implement machine learning in their workstreams. But where does this automation fit within the analyst role? Here’s a highlight from our trend: “Machine learning is rapidly becoming a valuable supplement for the analyst, providing assistance and driving efficiency. By automating simple, labor-intensive tasks like basic math, analysts gain time to think strategically about the business implications of their analysis and plan for next steps. Secondly, it helps them stay in the flow of their data. While there might be concern over being replaced, machine learning will supercharge analysts and make them more precise and impactful to the business.”

And that’s just the start. From natural language processing to liberal arts data stewards growing in influence, we have a variety of impactful trends for 2018. Check out the full list, watch our customer and Tableau interviews, and take a poll to tell us if these 2018 trends resonate.

But there’s more! Our community is the most passionate base in the business and we value your expertise. This year’s BI trends report includes a survey that offers the opportunity to inform and identify an eleventh trend. Once we tally votes, we’ll announce results during a special Facebook Live recording in December.

Whether you’re a data rockstar, IT hero or an executive building your BI empire, our 2018 business intelligence trends will emphasize strategic priorities that can take your organization to the next level.