Business Intelligence: Discover the truth about your business

Businesses are faced with an abundance of data but surprisingly few have the information they need for timely and accurate decision making; or worse they are mislead by inaccurate or poorly presented data. This paper explains how companies should use business intelligence to help clarify their business strategy and define relevant key performance indicators (KPIs). It also enables them to unlock the potential of their data and empowers personnel by providing easy to use and relevant reporting tools.

What does business intelligence mean?
The term business intelligence was introduced by Howard Dresner of the Gartner Group in 1989 to describe a process that was designed to improve decision making by ensuring information is factual and accurate. Today BI has reached maturity and while these principles remain it also aims to ensure companies are measuring themselves based on a clear business strategy with well defined KPIs at all levels. It also ensures the correct tools and technologies are used to deliver the information based on the requirements of the users.