Ecobank has been able to drastically improve its business analytics needs with the help of Microsoft Power BI. The bank, which has operations in 33 countries across the continent chose the solution due to it being easy to configure and navigate.
“We use a lot of tools. So, we were looking for something that was easy to implement and configure as well. Moreover, as we deal with sensitive data, Power BI provides a secured environment which helps protect data integrity,” said the company’s head of BI.
The bank, who have been utilizing Power BI for over one year, have found that it can be navigated with ease – with users being able to make use of the dashboard relatively quick – all thanks to its simple interface. “None of us have attended any formal training – with most of us being self-taught on Power BI. Various tutorials are also available online – allowing for easier learning.”
Ecobank’s needs in terms of data mining and business analytics was and is prodigious. With operations spread over a whole continent, reporting environments and individual affiliate databases are diverse. Hence the need expressed by Ecobank’s Group CEO, Ade Ayeyemi, for a single dashboard for quicker and easier access to data.
The team to get this going was set up by Ecobank Ghana, led by Sarah Oppan, Head of BI & Big Data, and Demola Jones, Head of IT Strategy, to choose the best fit for Ecobank’s needs. “Initially, we looked into the different services and tools available. We were looking for a solution that provides a way to bring the data together and one that offers a dashboard accessible anywhere and anytime, with an automatic refresh. We started looking around to see what we already had in-house. Then, Microsoft did a demo of the Power BI solution and we started using the different components in an incremental way.”
Through its mobile applications, the solution has also been able to provide employees with access to crucial data remotely – on any device, as long as an internet connection is available. “The instant access to data on a daily basis, such as the total volume of our transactions or the total value of transactions, and the performance of a particular affiliate, is crucial, especially in the decision-making process,” explains Sarah Oppan. Previously, access to this kind of data is something that would have taken several days. With Power Bi, users can get information across the whole group by the click of a button.
Overall, Power BI has streamlined business processes that would otherwise be bottlenecked. “We look forward to what the future brings for our organization and are enthusiastic in the endless possibilities Microsoft Power BI brings with it”, concludes Oppan.
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