How Do BI Consulting and Data Analytics Consulting Compare?

At Dataspace, we see BI consulting (business intelligence consulting) as part of our broader data analytics consulting services, but they are not exactly the same thing. If you want to get technical (which we usually do), it’s nearly impossible to do one without some element of the other. That’s because, while data analytics focuses on the technical aspects of collecting, integrating, and analyzing large data sets, business intelligence is the process of creating meaning from the analytics that can be applied to address business needs. As you can see, it’s a bit of a chicken and egg problem. You can’t extract BI insights without analyzing data, and there’s not a lot of value in analyzing data if you don’t care what it means. 

Similarly, Fivetran explains the difference between BI and data analytics this way: “Data Analytics involves using statistical and computational methods to extract insights from data sets. In contrast, Business Intelligence involves analyzing and presenting data in a way that helps business leaders make strategic decisions.”

While there are countless and slightly varied definitions of the difference between BI and data analytics, we hope you can see the two are intrinsically linked and both part of an effective data strategy. Our BI consulting services are frequently part of any data analytics engagement we undertake.