Executives looking at an analytics report and making data-driven decisions that deliver ROI.

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The ROI on Analytics: What Business Leaders Need to Know

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A CFO recently told us: “We’ve got mountains of data… but I still feel like we’re flying blind.”

The data was there, buried in spreadsheets, legacy reporting systems, and inboxes. But when it came time to make a decision that would impact the bottom line, it took days (and sometimes weeks) to pull it together. By then, the opportunity had passed.

The truth is, many organizations are sitting on a goldmine of valuable data that they haven’t fully tapped into. And yes, building a modern analytics strategy takes investments in time, resources, and budget. But the return comes back in faster decisions, more efficient teams, and the ability to act on opportunities before competitors even see them coming. 

In this article, we explore how modern data and analytics strategies can turn stale reports into real-time insights your leaders can act on now. We’ll get into:

Let’s dive in. 

The Three Pillars of Data and Analytics ROI

Last year, nearly 88% of business leaders said data and analytics were a top organizational priority. And in 2025, 82% of CIOs surveyed by Gartner planned to increase funding for business intelligence and analytics. The reason is simple: done right, analytics pay for themselves… and often faster than expected.

From what we’ve seen, the organizations realizing the biggest returns see them in three main areas:

1. Efficiency gains

Manual reporting eats up more hours than most leaders realize. Disconnected spreadsheets, outdated reporting systems, and ad hoc requests all add up to slower turnaround times and frustrated teams.

Investing in modern analytics tools streamlines this work, automating data pulls, cutting duplicate efforts, and making updates instantly accessible. Your team spends more time solving problems and less time chasing numbers, translating into measurable productivity gains. Here are some practical examples: 

  • Automated month-end reporting: Instead of days spent consolidating numbers, finance teams can generate live, interactive reports in minutes.
  • Self-serve dashboards for executives: Leaders can access the latest KPIs anytime without pulling staff off critical work to prepare custom decks.
  • Real-time operational monitoring: Operations teams can see inventory levels, project timelines, or production status at a glance, avoiding bottlenecks.
  • Cross-department data access: Sales, marketing, and service teams pull from the same source of truth, eliminating “multiple versions” of a report and the back-and-forth to reconcile them.

2. Competitive advantage

More than ever, speed matters when it comes to staying competitive. With unified, current data, leaders can make informed decisions in hours rather than days. That means spotting emerging trends, reacting to market shifts, and seizing opportunities before competitors even know they exist. It’s no wonder 70% of organizations say more than half of their analytics will be on a unified data lakehouse within three years and 86% plan to unify their data. The faster the insights flow, the greater the edge, and the greater the ROI. 

“One of our clients was manually preparing a report that took the team three weeks to complete. With the data solution we developed, they’re now able to produce that report in 30 minutes and they’re able to reallocate those resources to other areas of focus,” says Mike Deschambault, Analytics Consultant at Convverge.

3. Enhanced client service

People expect transparency and personalized service from the companies they buy from. Real-time dashboards and tailored reports allow you to share progress, uncover new opportunities, and provide recommendations backed by data rather than gut feel. This builds trust, strengthens relationships, and often leads to longer, more profitable engagements. The investment here pays off in retention, referrals, and an expanded share of wallet.

Here’s an example. One transportation and logistics company we worked with built real-time dashboards for their clients to access, which contained valuable information on their operations that helped them do business better. 

When these three areas work together, the ROI compounds. You save time, act faster, and deliver more value to clients, all from the same investment in modern analytics.

How Predictive Analytics vs. Prescriptive Analytics Play a Role

Imagine if your reports didn’t just tell you what happened last month, but they told you what’s likely to happen next. And better yet, they recommended exactly what to do about it.

That’s the difference between traditional analytics and the next evolution: predictive and prescriptive analytics.

  • Predictive analytics looks at historical and current data to forecast what’s most likely to occur. It might flag that sales in a certain region are trending downward, or that a supply chain delay is probable given current performance.
  • Prescriptive analytics takes it a step further. It doesn’t just predict the drop in sales, it suggests specific actions to reverse it (like adjusting pricing, increasing marketing spend in high-ROI channels, or targeting retention campaigns to at-risk customers).

The business impact is huge. Instead of reacting after the fact, leaders can proactively shape outcomes. For example:

  • A retail chain sees predictive models forecast a spike in winter coat demand three weeks earlier than usual. Prescriptive analytics recommends reallocating inventory from slower-moving categories, increasing ad spend in cold-weather regions, and negotiating expedited shipping with suppliers. The result? Higher sales without overstock risk.
  • A professional services firm spots that client engagement scores are likely to dip. Prescriptive analytics suggests targeted outreach sequences and resource reallocation, preventing churn before it starts.

Investing in these capabilities can feel like a leap, but the ROI comes from the compounding effect of catching risks earlier, capitalizing on opportunities faster, and turning every decision into a data-informed one.

The Problem With Older Reporting Tools

Comparing Crystal Reports and SSRS vs. Power BI

Tools like SSRS and Crystal Reports have been workhorses for years. But the reality is, they were designed for a different era.

Legacy reporting tools are great at telling you what happened last month. What they can’t do (at least not without heavy customization) is give you real-time insights, predictive modeling, or the ability to drill down and act instantly.

Here’s where they fall short:

  • Data delays: Reports are static snapshots. By the time they’re distributed, the information is already aging.
  • Limited integration: Legacy tools often can’t easily connect to modern systems, meaning your data stays in silos and you lose valuable context.
  • High maintenance costs: Custom coding, manual updates, and specialized skill sets all add to the total cost of ownership.
  • No predictive or prescriptive capabilities: You’re looking in the rearview mirror instead of through the windshield.

When decision-making is slowed by days or weeks, opportunities slip away, and competitors using modern analytics move first. Transitioning to newer, more connected analytics platforms is an upfront investment, but the ROI comes from faster insights and the ability to make proactive moves in real time.

Why Microsoft’s Analytics Ecosystem Delivers ROI Faster

One of the biggest roadblocks to analytics ROI is complexity. Too many disconnected tools, each with its own learning curve, cost structure, and integration quirks. Microsoft’s data and analytics ecosystem removes that friction by bringing everything together in a unified, familiar environment that works seamlessly with the systems most businesses already use.

Here’s where the value stacks up quickly:

  • Unified data environment: Power BI, Power Platform, and Azure Synapse Analytics and other tools in the ecosystem integrate with Microsoft 365 and your existing business systems. This means you’re not juggling multiple vendors or wasting time stitching together incompatible tools.
  • Power BI: Turns raw data into interactive dashboards and visual reports you can drill into instantly. Real-time analytics means leaders can make decisions based on what’s happening now.
  • Power Platform: Tools like Power Automate and Power Apps let you build workflows and custom applications without heavy coding. That means fewer repetitive tasks, faster processes, and lower development costs.
  • Built-in AI & ML: Predictive analytics can forecast trends, flag risks, and recommend next steps automatically—capabilities that used to require expensive, specialized software.

For organizations already using Microsoft 365, adoption is even faster. Your teams already know the interface, your data is already connected, and you can start delivering value in weeks instead of months.

“Modern analytics tools allow you to take data in any form, whether it’s raw, structured, or unstructured, and apply a whole bunch of insights to it that weren’t possible in the past. Then you can apply machine learning techniques across your raw data to do predictive and prescriptive modeling,” says Deschambault.  

“So for example, in the finance world, if a bank has mortgages coming up for renewal, it can use predictive analytics to identify what the renewal rate and attrition rate will look like, which clients are likely to go into arrears, and if that happens, how they can proactively handle it before it becomes an issue.”

The First Steps to Creating a Data and Analytics Strategy

You don’t need to overhaul your entire analytics stack overnight to start seeing results. In fact, the fastest ROI often comes from starting small, proving value, and scaling strategically.

Here’s a simple roadmap:

  1. Start with a clear business objective
    Identify the decision, process, or challenge you want to improve. The more specific you are (like reducing report turnaround from five days to one, or improving customer retention by 10%) the easier it is to measure results.
  2. Define your success metrics
    Tie your analytics project directly to business outcomes. This could be time saved, revenue generated, costs reduced, or client satisfaction scores improved.
  3. Assess your current data landscape
    Map out where your data lives, what tools you use today, and where the bottlenecks or gaps are. This helps you prioritize fixes and integrations.
  4. Pilot a high-impact use case
    Choose one area where analytics can deliver visible results quickly. Build, test, and measure the impact, then use that success story to fuel broader adoption.
  5. Plan for scalability
    As you expand, ensure your tools and processes can handle more data sources, more users, and more complex analytics without starting from scratch.
“Investing in strong data infrastructure can be discouraging when you look at the initial costs of the build. However, you have to think of it like building a highway. It may cost you up front, but it services you and continues to deliver returns in the long-run,” says Patricia Harty, Data and Analytics Team Lead at Convverge. 

By approaching analytics as a series of strategic investments rather than one massive project, you start generating returns faster and you build internal buy-in with every win.

Turn Your Data Into a Growth Engine

Data is a competitive asset. But like any asset, its value depends on how you use it. With the right data and analytics strategy, you can cut wasted hours, make faster, more confident decisions, and deliver the kind of transparency that keeps clients loyal.

Yes, there’s an upfront investment. But the organizations we see winning in their markets aren’t waiting for “the right time” to modernize. They’re making strategic moves now, and will be reaping the ROI for years to come.

Convverge helps businesses like yours turn scattered data into clear, actionable insights with Microsoft’s analytics ecosystem. Whether you’re upgrading outdated reporting tools, building predictive capabilities, or unifying your data for the first time, we’ll guide you from strategy to measurable results.

Ready to see what your data can do? Book a consultation and let’s start turning your information into impact.

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