Understanding Business Intelligence (BI)

The need for BI was derived from the concept that managers with inaccurate or incomplete information will tend, on average, to make worse decisions than if they had better information. Creators of the finance model recognize this as “garbage in, garbage out.”

BI attempts to solve this problem by analyzing current data that is ideally presented on a dashboard of quick metrics designed to support better decisions

Benefits Of using Business intelligence

There are many reasons why companies adopt BI. Many use it to support functions as diverse as hiring, compliance, production, and marketing. BI is a core business value; it is difficult to find a business area that does not benefit from better information to work with.

Some of the many benefits companies can experience after adopting BI into their business models include faster, more accurate reporting and analysis, improved data quality, better employee satisfaction, reduced costs, and increased revenues, and the ability to make better business decisions.

Types of BI Tools and Software

BI tools and software come in a wide variety of forms. Let’s take a quick look at some common types of BI solutions.

• Spreadsheets: Spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel and Google Docs are some of the most widely used BI tools.
• Reporting software: Reporting software is used to report, organize, filter, and display data.
• Data visualization software: Data visualization software translates datasets into easy-to-read, visually appealing graphical representations to quickly gain insights.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• BI represents the technical infrastructure that collects, stores, and analyzes company data.
• BI parses data and produces reports and information that help managers to make better decisions.
• Software companies produce BI solutions for companies that wish to make better use of their data.
• BI tools and software come in a wide variety of forms such as spreadsheets, reporting/query software, data visualization software, data mining tools, and online analytical processing (OLAP).
• Self-service BI is an approach to analytics that allows individuals without a technical background to access and explore data.