What is business intelligence?

Business intelligence is a technology-driven discipline that uses data to inform business decisions. Business intelligence is about transforming raw data into meaningful insights to support strategic decision-making, improve operational efficiency, and optimize business performance. It involves using tools, applications, and methodologies to collect, analyze, and present data for clear business understanding.

What are the main features of business intelligence?

• Data-driven decision making: Relies on data analysis to guide business choices rather than intuition.
• Focus on actionable insights: Extracts usable information from data to support concrete actions.
• Technology-enabled: Utilizes various software and tools like data warehouses, data mining applications, and visualization tools.
• Focus on communication: Effectively presenting insights to decision-makers in a clear and understandable way.

What are the most important sub-areas of business intelligence?

• Data Warehousing: Storing and managing large datasets from various sources.
• Data Mining: Uncovering hidden patterns and trends within data.
• Data Visualization: Presenting data in a clear and visually compelling way (charts, graphs).
• Business Analytics: A subfield that uses statistical methods and advanced analytics to extract even deeper insights from data.
• Data Governance: Establishing policies and procedures for data management and security.

What are important concepts of business intelligence?

• Data Quality: Ensuring data is accurate, complete, and consistent for reliable analysis.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Measurable metrics used to track business performance.
• Data Model: A structured representation of how data is organized and relationships between data points.
• Self-Service BI: Tools allowing non-technical users to access and analyze data to some extent.
• Big Data: Extremely large and complex datasets requiring specialized techniques for processing.

Who are influential figures in business intelligence?

• Howard Dresner: Coined the term "Business Intelligence" in the 1980s.
• Inmon W.H.: Pioneered the Inmon methodology for data warehousing.
• Kimball R.: Developed the Kimball methodology for data warehousing, focusing on dimensional modeling.
• Hans Peter Lehmann: Contributed significantly to data mining techniques and knowledge discovery in databases.

Why is business intelligence important?

• Data-driven insights can lead to better decision-making across all levels of a business.
• Improved operational efficiency through data-backed process optimization.
• Stronger customer focus by understanding customer behavior and preferences through data analysis.
• Enhanced competitive advantage by identifying trends and opportunities before competitors.
• More informed risk management through data-driven risk assessment.

How is business intelligence applied in practice?

• Marketing: Analyzing customer data to personalize marketing campaigns and measure their effectiveness.
• Sales: Identifying sales trends and predicting future sales figures.
• Finance: Monitoring financial performance and making informed investment decisions.
• Operations: Optimizing supply chain management and identifying areas for cost reduction.
• Human Resources: Analyzing employee data to improve recruitment, retention, and training programs.