The DataBoost Nexus #2
Defining Business Intelligence
Understanding what business intelligence can do for your organization requires first understanding how it is defined.
To put it bluntly, there are a great many people inside and outside the tech industry with wrong-headed ideas about what business intelligence means. Before you can appreciate the importance of BI or recognize how BI application s are changing the face of commerce, you need to be sure you have the correct definition in mind.
TechTarget.com defines business intelligence as:
“A technology-driven process for analyzing data and presenting actionable information to help corporate executives, business managers and other end users make more informed business decisions.”
http://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/definition/business-intelligence
It’s sort of accurate, but it’s nebulous. What qualifies as “actionable information”? Who are these “other end users” that might be utilizing the application? I think we can find a better definition.
CIO.com defines business intelligence as:
“An umbrella term that refers to a variety of software applications used to analyze an organization’s raw data.”
http://www.cio.com/article/2439504/business-intelligence/business-intelligence-definition-and-solutions.html
This is a correct definition, if a bit uninspired. BI is certainly an umbrella term, but that’s the problem. A single, unifying definition of BI would cure much confusion. Also, there’s more to BI than just software, so this definition is lacking.
Forrester Research defines business intelligence as:
“A set of methodologies, processes, architectures, and technologies that transform raw data into meaningful and useful information.”
https://www.forrester.com/report/Topic+Overview+Business+Intelligence/-/E-RES39218
Bingo! As is so often the case, Forrester Research nails it.
Business Intelligence is more than just software; it is a combination of disciplines that come together to improve efficiency and accuracy of data output organization wide. BI is not limited to keyboards and command lines; it is a complete business philosophy on how to best move and manage information.
Now that we understand what BI means – what it REALLY means – we can talk more about how implementing it properly can help organizations like yours.
