Business intelligence(BI) refers to the process of analyzing an organization's business data, by various (often computer-aided) means, to assist in the organization's decision making. BI technologies are capable of handling large amount of unstructured data to help identify, develop and create strategic opportunities.
Business Intelligence explains the process that a system uses to gather raw data from different types of sources and processes it into practical information to determine the effectiveness of business process.
It involves three levels of processes. STAGING, INTEGRATION, ACCESS
Staging involves the process of giving the raw data and manipulating it.
Integration involves the process of categorising the raw data and logically storing it according to the requirement of the end-user.
Access involves the process of giving the categorised and logically stored data to the users in a coherent way that is easy to understand.
There are many tools available for Business Intelligence. Some of the popular tools (in no particular order) are:
- IBM Cognos
- Microsoft Business Intelligence
- Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE)
- Business Objects Enterprise XI
- Jaspersoft (Open Source)
- Talend Open Studio (Open Source), Talend Enterprise or Platform (with subscription)
- Pentaho software (have open source version)
- Qlikview Comprehensive BI Platform
- MicroStrategy
- Tableau
Business Intelligence helps an Organisation for its growth by analysing required business data.
Links
