Thursday, May 8, 2014

BI Technology: The Front End

BI applications like Cognos 8 run on end-users’ desktops, providing easy access to the information needed to predict trends, analyze current processes, determine performance metrics and more. The goal of any desktop-level Business Intelligence system is to present complex data in a usable way. The key to a successful BI application is usability; there is no value at all to BI if the end user finds it too hard to utilize in a meaningful way.

When a company takes on the task of developing a BI system, the end user’s needs must be taken into account. This is known as the "requirements" step of the Business Intelligence development process. Matching a BI system’s abilities with user need and usability is the only way to ensure continued use and acceptance of a BI system.


Business Intelligence is the process of taking all a business’ raw data, organizing it and presenting it in such a way that business leaders can use the end product to make informed decisions. The backbone of a good BI system is usability. It doesn’t matter how big the data warehouse is or how advanced your company’s BI apps are; is the data generated by it isn’t easy to use in practical ways, then the BI system is useless. Business Intelligence is a very powerful tool that businesses need in order to stay relevant and thrive. Knowledge is power, as the saying goes. There is no power at all when that knowledge is sitting in piles, confusing all who try to use it. BI takes this knowledge and makes it usable.

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