{"id":1123,"date":"2010-12-17T10:35:46","date_gmt":"2010-12-17T16:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/?p=1123"},"modified":"2014-11-03T10:54:41","modified_gmt":"2014-11-03T16:54:41","slug":"what-is-business-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/what-is-business-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"What is business intelligence?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a name=\"20101217\"><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-725\" title=\"Education\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Education.jpg\" alt=\"Education\" width=\"76\" height=\"100\" \/>Just the other day, someone asked me this question: \u201cWhat is business intelligence?\u201d It got me thinking&#8230;I frequently write about business intelligence (BI) and why it\u2019s important, but I\u2019ve never really defined the term. In this post, I\u2019d like to take a step back and give you the what, why, who, where, when, and how of business intelligence. Sound good? Okay, let\u2019s get started&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is business intelligence?<\/strong><br \/>\nMost companies collect and store data covering all areas of their business. This data sits in a database and is really pretty useless in this format. What do I mean by that? If you looked at data in a database, it wouldn\u2019t make any sense and would most definitely overwhelm you. This is where business intelligence comes into play. Business intelligence is the process of taking that (overwhelming) data in your database and presenting it in an understandable, accessible, and useful fashion.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>There isn\u2019t one application that is the \u201cbusiness intelligence\u201d application. The term \u201cbusiness intelligence\u201d covers a wide range of applications such as: Ad-hoc reports, interactive reports, business dashboards, pivot tables, what-if analysis, and many more. These applications are all designed for data analytics and accessed via a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Some applications are web-based while others reside within the confines of a larger BI software suite.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why do I need business intelligence?<\/strong><br \/>\nBusiness intelligence helps companies discover trends and find new business opportunities, but perhaps the biggest, most popular benefit is improved decision-making. Good BI applications let you easily analyze past data and make better, more informed decisions based on that data.<\/p>\n<p>For example, suppose an electronics company analyzed past sales data and discovered that products released on Wednesdays were 10% more profitable than products released on Thursdays. With this knowledge, their products are instantly more profitable! I realize that example doesn\u2019t apply to everyone, but the concept holds true regardless of industry: Past data is the key to informed decisions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who uses business intelligence?<\/strong><br \/>\nShort answer: Everyone! Long answer: Different people use business intelligence for different tasks. For example, executives might use the dashboard component of BI for daily business monitoring or use the analytics component for decision making. A salesperson might access mobile BI apps while on the road and learn about a customer\u2019s purchasing history. Or, anyone in the company could run ad-hoc reports if they need data pertaining to their job.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where do I use business intelligence?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt depends on your BI solution. Some BI applications only work within the confines of a larger BI software suite. Unless that BI software suite is installed on multiple computers, it\u2019s only accessible from work. On the flip side, other BI tools create web-based applications. These applications are accessible from anywhere, including smartphones.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When do I use business intelligence?<\/strong><br \/>\nEvery day. From monitoring business dashboards, to running reports for meetings, to general data analytics, business intelligence is a daily exercise. Regular BI use helps you keep a close eye on business and make quick, yet informed decisions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do I get business intelligence?<\/strong><br \/>\nThere are many, many BI solutions available. But, before you begin your BI search, you must create a detailed plan specific to your company. Here are a few questions you need to answer before you begin your search:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Quick or customized<\/strong>? Do you want a pre-built BI solution, or a BI tool that lets you create BI apps quickly? The former is the quick solution, but the latter is built around your business.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pricing structure?<\/strong> Pricing is more than just setting a budget. Some solutions charge by the month, others by the year, while others charge by the user, developer, or database. Beware, some of the cheapest options quickly turn into the most expensive once all the hidden fees are flushed out. .<\/li>\n<li><strong>Needs vs. wants?<\/strong> Not every BI solution comes with the same capabilities. What elements of business intelligence are important to you? Figure out exactly which elements are necessary and which are just nice to have. For a quick list of essential BI elements to look for in a solution, check out this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/research\/5elementsofBI.pdf\" onclick=\"javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('\/blog\/Click\/B101221_WhatIsBI_5Elements');\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: red; font-weight: bold;\">article<\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To conclude, business intelligence is a very important, if not essential tool for your business. While this brief primer hopefully helps you understand BI a little better, it is by no means a comprehensive guide. If you need help with BI or have any questions, we\u2019d be happy to help you. Just fill out this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/infoform.html\" onclick=\"javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('\/blog\/Click\/B101221_WhatIsBI_Form');\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: red; font-weight: bold;\">form<\/span><\/a> or give us a call at 630-916-0662.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just the other day, someone asked me this question: \u201cWhat is business intelligence?\u201d It got me thinking&#8230;I frequently write about business intelligence (BI) and why it\u2019s important, but I\u2019ve never really defined the term. In this post, I\u2019d like to take a step back and give you the what, why, who, where, when, and how &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/what-is-business-intelligence\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What is business intelligence?<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","slim_seo":{"title":"What is business intelligence? - mrc&#039;s Cup of Joe Blog","description":"Just the other day, someone asked me this question: \u201cWhat is business intelligence?\u201d It got me thinking...I frequently write about business intelligence (BI) an"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[21,12,10,23],"class_list":["post-1123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-business-analytics","tag-business-dashboards","tag-business-intelligence","tag-web-reporting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8591,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1123\/revisions\/8591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}