Business Intelligence

By Clay Stephens, Kosta Golemis, & Brian Peterson

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

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.

History of Business Intelligence

• Started in the early 90’s, had a surge of popularity

• Stopped being used in late 90’s 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

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”

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

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.

BIDW Process Overview

BIDW Process (In-Depth)

• Raw data is stored– Raw data are typically stored, retrieved,

and updated by an organization’s 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

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.

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.)

More Uses of Business Intelligence

BI Software

• Cognos– Cognos 8 BI

• Information Builders– WebFOCUS

• Microsoft– Maestro BI

• ClearForest– ClearResearch

• Sun Microsystems

– Sun StorEdgeTM SAM-FS/QFS

BI Software