How 2025 Will Democratize Embedded Analytics

Ariel Katz is the CEO of Sisense with 30 years of experience in technology, cloud products and leading innovation at Microsoft.

Remember the first time you used a smartphone? That moment when you realized that complex computing had become as simple as touching a screen? We’re about to experience a similar transformation in the world of data analytics. As I sit here looking at all the changes from 2024, I can’t help but think about how 2025 will fundamentally change our relationship with data.

I recently overheard a marketing manager for a customer ask our analytics platform, in plain English, about customer behavior patterns across different regions. No SQL queries, no complex dashboard navigation—just a simple conversation with AI that unveiled insights that would have taken days to uncover in the past. This is just a glimpse of what’s coming.

The Evolution Of Traditional BI: When Every App Becomes Smart

The days of standalone business intelligence platforms are numbered. Think about it: Would you use a different phone just to check your email? Of course not. Similarly, you shouldn’t need to open a separate app to check your analytics.

In 2025, we will see the democratization of analytics, where insights are no longer confined to standalone tools but seamlessly integrated into everyday applications. This shift, powered by API-first architectures and generative AI, will make it dramatically easier for app creators to embed analytics directly into their workflows, enabling smarter and more intuitive user experiences for all.

Imagine your CRM not just surfacing data but proactively delivering actionable insights during customer calls or your project management tool alerting you to bottlenecks before they disrupt timelines. Analytics today must go beyond static reports; they need to seamlessly integrate into workflows and drive decisions. Just as Netflix reshaped content consumption with personalized recommendations embedded into the viewing experience, embedded analytics will transform how we work by delivering smarter, faster decisions right where action happens.

The Rise Of The Semantic Layer: AI’s New Best Friend

One of the most exciting developments I’m seeing is how the semantic layer is becoming the crucial bridge between enterprise data and AI. By semantic layer, I mean a unified layer of business logic that translates raw enterprise data into meaningful and consistent formats, making it accessible for both humans and AI. It serves as a universal translator that helps AI and applications understand business context, bridging the gap between complex technical data and actionable insights.

In 2025, I predict we’ll move far beyond simple chatbot interactions. Imagine telling your analytics platform, “Show me a breakdown of customer churn by region, focusing on customers who haven’t engaged with our product in the last 30 days.” The system doesn’t just understand your request—it creates a sophisticated visualization, complete with relevant metrics and insights, all without the user needing to write a single line of SQL or understand how a pivot table works.

This is where the semantic layer becomes crucial. It’s the invisible intelligence that understands that when you say “customer churn,” you’re really asking about subscription cancellations, account closures, and usage patterns. It knows your business context, your data structure and, most importantly, what these terms mean in your specific industry and company.

In 2025, the semantic layer will be the secret sauce that bridges enterprise data with global knowledge, making AI truly enterprise-ready. Instead of generic responses, AI will deliver insights tailored to your business context, combining internal and external data in ways that feel transformative. More importantly, it will redefine analytics—shifting from a reliance on technical tools to a world where asking the right business questions becomes the primary focus.

The Great Data Literacy Movement

In a similar way to how software like Excel made financial spreadsheets part of most office workers’ daily jobs, we are about to see a similar revolution in data literacy, but this time, AI will be our teacher and assistant. In 2025, we’ll witness a mass movement toward data literacy, driven by AI-powered tools that make complex analysis accessible to everyone.

Consumers already engage intuitively with data on energy usage, shopping habits and sustainability through user-friendly platforms, and they’ll demand the same interactivity from their enterprise applications. Companies that empower users with simplified, interactive reporting will thrive, while those clinging to static, pre-canned reports will risk alienating users who expect more actionable and relevant insights.

We aren’t just making data easier to understand—we’re empowering people to ask better questions. When you combine intuitive interfaces with AI-driven insights, you create an environment where curiosity can thrive and innovation can flourish because people can easily access and analyze data on their own.

The Automation Revolution In Analytics

In 2025, agentic AI will transform analytics by creating systems that don’t just uncover patterns or send alerts—they take action. These autonomous agents will proactively analyze data, surface insights and recommend or even execute decisions, fundamentally changing how organizations leverage analytics.

This shift will elevate data teams, freeing them from manual tasks like building reports to focus on guiding AI agents and driving strategic outcomes. Similar to autopilot in aviation, this automation won’t replace human expertise but will enhance it, enabling teams to tackle more complex challenges.

The promise of agentic AI is analytics that works autonomously—exploring data, making recommendations and acting where appropriate—all while collaborating seamlessly with human teams. It will redefine how organizations operate, moving from static analysis to a dynamic system that continuously learns, adapts and delivers real-time impact.

Looking Ahead

The transformation we’ll see in 2025 is about democratizing data access and empowering everyone to make better decisions. Just as the smartphone revolution puts computing in everyone’s pocket, this analytics revolution will put powerful insights at everyone’s fingertips.

The question isn’t whether this transformation will happen—it’s whether you’ll be ready when it does.

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