Business Intelligence Software

Business intelligence (BI) is a technology-driven process for analyzing data and presenting actionable information that executives, managers, and other end users use to make informed business decisions.

Definition: What does Business Intelligence mean?

The term Business Intelligence (BI for short) refers to processes and procedures for the systematic analysis of company-relevant data. Using the (procedural) technical processes, the data generated by the activities of a company can be collected, stored and analyzed. The goal is to be able to make data-driven decisions within a company. Business Intelligence uses the data to create easy-to-understand reports, key performance indicators and trends that serve as a basis for management decisions.

What is Business Intelligence Software?

Business Intelligence (BI) software are tools designed to retrieve, analyze, transform and visualize data. They help analyze all business data through automated processes. For example, strengths and weaknesses of the company can be understood. At the same time, management can more quickly see the interrelationship of various data, which enables better decision making and resource allocation.

A self-service BI solution enables employees to access the data warehouse and thus the relevant data without the help of the IT department. The prerequisite for this is that intuitive tools are used.

How does Business Intelligence software work?

Classic BI consists of three phases or levels:

Determination of the relevant data using OLTP systems (Online Transaction Processing)
Data Mining
Interpretation of the data

The basic building blocks of BI solutions are the raw data that accumulates both internally (e.g. ERP systems, enterprise resource planning systems, CRM systems, SCM systems) and externally (e.g. online databases). This data is collected centrally in the so-called data warehouse and is therefore available at any time and up-to-date. The data warehouse is therefore a large information store in which all information and data are brought together. The system uses the so-called ETL process (extraction, transformation and loading) for processing: The data is pulled from the source systems, transformed and then processed and loaded into the data warehouse. Here, the information is then available centrally and clearly arranged.

What are Business Intelligent Tools used for?

BI solutions help to evaluate and analyze company data electronically. Without the use of BI, employees must manually collect, evaluate and analyze all relevant data from the various departments. This often leads to errors and the reporting is often very static. In addition, the amount of data quickly exceeds capacities.

With the help of BI tools, data can be easily obtained and analyzed, thus contributing to strategic decision-making. All employees can view, share and edit the data. In addition, the data is accessible worldwide at any time and can be analyzed dynamically. This uncovers and improves inefficient processes and the identification of strengths and weaknesses leads to new opportunities within an organization.

What are the benefits of business intelligence tools?

BI is used in companies for a variety of reasons. Basically, all business units can benefit from business intelligence because it helps to clean data and avoid inaccurate or insufficient data analysis. Often, companies have many heterogeneous data sources, such as numerous Excel spreadsheets, where the overview is quickly lost. Business Intelligence helps to bring together data from all sources and create central insights. Business Intelligence thus plays an important role in the strategic planning process of the organization. BI solutions help accelerate and improve decision-making processes, basing them on concrete data and statistics rather than gut feelings.

Advantages of BI software at a glance:

Faster and more accurate reports and analyses
High data quality
Increased employee and customer satisfaction
Lower costs and higher revenues
Improved operational efficiency
Make better business decisions
Precise strategies
Competitive advantages
Increased transparency

What are the types and technologies of business intelligence software?

Business intelligence tools and software come in various forms. All are used to collect internal and external data, prepare it for analysis, and visualize reports or data so that the analyses are then available.

Specific business intelligence technologies may include:

Ad-hoc reports
Data retrieval and data discovery
Data warehousing
Enterprise reporting
Online analytical processing
Data visualization software
Dashboards
Performance scorecards
Cloud services
Supply chain analytics
Machine learning and artificial intelligence

In what areas are BI solutions used?

In origin, BI software was first used by data analysts and in IT. Now, BI systems can be used across the enterprise. Whether marketing/sales, financial planning, planning or supply chain - the solutions help automate and improve processes in all areas. Their use has also been simplified by self-service BI solutions that make them easier to use.