What Is Business Intelligence?

Business intelligence (BI) is an umbrella term that applies to the technologies and skills that organizations use to make informed business decisions based on their corporate data. According to Wikipedia’s business intelligence entry, “BI technologies provide historical, current, and predictive views of business operations.” Organizations can make better business decisions through the use of BI products and tools that make data easier to understand.

BI technologies that are related to SQL Server include SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS), Windows SharePoint Services, Microsoft Excel, SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), OLAP, business performance management (BPM), and Business Intelligence Design Studio (BIDS). SQL Server 2008 R2 will offer several new BI features, including a managed self-service reporting and analysis tool called PowerPivot for Excel and Master Data Services, which will help you improve the quality of your data.

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Also Known As: A decision-support system

Related Terms: analysis,dashboards, data analysis, data mining, data visualization,data warehousing, predictive analytics, reporting, and scorecards

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