Business Intelligence

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Business Intelligence

• By Clay Stephens, Kosta Golemis, Brian Peterson

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Presentation Overview

• What is business intelligence?
• History of business intelligence
• How do we gather it?
• Data warehousing and data marts
• Business Intelligence Data Warehouse (BIDW)
  process
• Business government use of business
  intelligence
• Technology in business intelligence

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What is Business Intelligence?

• Business Intelligence (BI) systems turn the raw
  data a company has into useful information.
• The data collected are used to assess the
  business environment, and depending on the
  company, can be used for a variety of purposes.
• Essentially, business intelligence is the process
  of enhancing data into information, and then into
  knowledge.

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History of Business Intelligence

• Started in the early 90s, had a surge of
  popularity
• Stopped being used in late 90s due to a variety
  of reasons, including being over promised, the
  vision of BI not being supported by current
  technology, and not knowing how to properly use
  the information they obtain
• Recently has made a big comeback in businesses

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Gathering Business Intelligence

• Data Integration
• The process of combining two or more data sets
  for sharing and analysis, in order to support
  information management inside a business.
• Data Mining
• The process of extracting previously unknown and
  useful information from large data sets or
  databases.
• Mined data of a company are then stored in a
  Data Warehouse

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Gathering Business Intelligence

• Data Warehousing
• A data warehouse is an special database where all
  the useful information is stored in one location
  for easy access.
• A data mart is essentially the same as a data
  warehouse, but with more specific information of
  predetermined select data.
• Makes for more efficient data analysis and
  reporting

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Gathering Business Intelligence

• Business Performance Management (BPM)
• BPM is a set of processes that help organizations
  optimize business performance. BPM is focused on
  business processes such as planning and
  forecasting. It helps businesses discover
  efficient use of their business units, financial,
  human, and material resources.

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BIDW Process Overview
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BIDW Process (In-Depth)

• Raw data is stored
• Raw data are typically stored, retrieved, and
  updated by an organizations on-line transaction
  processing (OLTP) system.
• Information is cleansed and optimized
• Info is cleansed and optimized for decision
  support apps. It is usually read only and
  stored on separate systems.
• Data mining, query and analytical tools generate
  intelligence
• Enables companies to spot trends, enhance
  business relationships, and create new
  opportunities

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BIDW Process Cont

• Organizations use intelligence to make strategic
  business decisions
• With this intelligence, organizations can make
  effective decisions, and create strategies and
  programs for competitive advantage.
• The system is regulated by an overall corporate
  security policy
• Business performance management applications
  track results
• Well run BIDW operation includes BPM
  applications, which help track results of the
  decisions made and the performance of he programs
  created.

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Uses of Business Intelligence

• Business Intelligence has significant relevance
  in business and government settings.
• Business Uses
• analyzing competitors
• market and industry research
• trying to gain a competitive advantage.
• Government uses
• sharing data between local and federal
  intelligence agencies to reduce crime levels, and
  lower the risk of terrorist attacks.
• Helps further develop a uniform system of
  government BI resources, in which local, state,
  and federal services are available online (such
  as the DMV, social security, etc.)

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More Uses of Business Intelligence
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BI Software

• Cognos
• Cognos 8 BI
• Information Builders
• WebFOCUS
• Microsoft
• Maestro BI
• ClearForest
• ClearResearch
• Sun Microsystems
• Sun StorEdgeTM SAM-FS/QFS

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BI Software