BI technology

From 4GLs to HTML5 desktop apps: Bringing data to the masses

Advocating wider access to data, speakers at the Information Builders Summit 2013 traced a journey from 4GL tools to HTML5 desktop apps and beyond.Talking Data | 14 Jun 2013

Marketing and advertising remain sweet spots for big data technology

Marketing and advertising are the sweet spots for big data, but those who serve up marketing insights and ad space will need to evolve to survive.Big Data | 14 May 2013

Amazon RedShift

Amazon RedShift is a fully managed petabyte-scale data warehouse service. RedShift is designed for analytic workloads and connects to standard SQL-based clients and business intelligence tools.Definition

Network Rail takes embedded analytics route to mesh with Crossrail

Network Rail has taken an embedded analytics route to playing a role in the £2.1bn Crossrail projectdata analytics | 05 Mar 2013

Intelligent data use stokes high performance, says EIU study

Companies which believe their data use is better than their competitors are more likely to consider themselves ahead in financial performance tooNews | 25 Feb 2013

Upward mobility? Today mobile business apps only go so far

With more people working away from the office, mobile technology is hot in the business world, and the number of business functions mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets can support is growing by the day. But does the trend end with employees in the field and jet-setting execs, or is something bigger in mobile’s future? Something like, say, the entire business?

Running all of a company’s critical systems on mobile devices might not be such a far-out concept, in fact—and whether it’s really feasible is just what the inaugural issue of Business Information aims to find out. We’ll also look at a more humble first step to mobile domination—integrating mobile systems with traditional systems so the business can have sales and corporate info at the ready at all times. Also in this issue, learn about BI trends you can expect to hear more about in 2013 and get the latest on the upcoming Oracle 12c database.E-Zine

When open source tools aren't the best BI software for an organization

Book author Lyndsay Wise explains why some companies might be better off sticking with traditional BI software instead of adopting open source tools.Book excerpt

Reasons for choosing open source business intelligence software

Book author Lyndsay Wise explains why open source business intelligence tools might be the way to go for organizations looking to deploy BI systems.Book excerpt

Do open source business intelligence tools meet your business goals?

Businesses must assess their goals and IT systems before weighing whether open source business intelligence is a good fit, says author Lyndsay Wise.Book excerpt

Lyndsay Wise: Open source BI software price, fit both must be right

In an interview, consultant and author Lyndsay Wise explains why open source BI tools are a good choice for some organizations but not others.Feature

Real-time data analytics aims to boost businesses' speed of thought

Real-time business intelligence can help improve operational decisions by enabling BI to be done in business systems. Read about how to make it work.From the Editors | 07 Mar 2013

Online gambling sector bets on business intelligence

Online gambling and gaming industries crave structured business data. Volumes can be huge and they need to react to customer behaviourFeature

Real-time data analysis recipe calls for mix of IT, business savvy

Business intelligence teams, IT managers and business executives need to come together to make real-time analytics initiatives effective.Feature

'Big data' strains, stresses real-time business intelligence systems

Incorporating big data adds to the complexity of developing real-time BI and analytics applications, partly due to the batch nature of big data tools.Feature

Real-time analytics brings BI data directly into business operations

Giving end users immediate access to operational data for real-time business intelligence can help drive better decisions, if it fits business needs.Feature

'Big data' in motion: Where does it make sense?

Data architects creating operational business intelligence applications may need to put streams of Hadoop data into a fast messaging infrastructure.News | 10 Jan 2013

At OOCL, event processing system targets all the ships at sea

App dev lead Matt Rosen builds a real-time processing system to track a container company's fleet of ships, opening ways to cost-effective decisions.Profile

Pushing the performance envelope with real-time BI

There are many benefits of real-time analytics and BI tools, as they can help companies improve the efficiency and efficacy of decision-making.  However, like implementing any analytics system, the right tools need to be in place in order to maximize productivity and limit complications. This expert handbook provides practical advice for evaluating, planning, and managing deployment of real-time analytics systems. Read more about the business case for real-time BI, the benefits and challenges of incorporating pools of big data into your systems, and best practics for tackling real-time projects.E-Handbook

Nicole Laskowski, News Editor

Nicole Laskowski covers business intelligence, analytics and corporate performance management topics for SearchBusinessAnalytics.com.Contributor

Rogers: Businesses shift from data warehouse to 'hybrid data ecosystem'

Businesses are integrating their data warehouses with other analytics systems to better manage different kinds of data, says consultant Shawn Rogers.Video

Mobile business intelligence attracts non-traditional users

Mobile business intelligence gives organisations more accessible, lightweight and flexible decision and operational supportFeature

Predictive analytics adoption triples, says Accenture

Chief data officers are rising to the leadership of business analytics programmes more quickly than expecteddata analytics | 05 Mar 2013

BI architect has new options to meet growing data, analytics demands

Designing a business intelligence architecture that can meet the expanding needs of BI users is an exercise in finding the right combination of tools.Tip

Six things Hadoop brings to the BI and analytics table

TechTarget's Wayne Eckerson outlines what is unique about Hadoop and related technologies versus traditional BI and data warehousing tools.Analysis | 28 Feb 2013

Rugby Football Union uses IBM predictive analytics for Six Nations

IBM tries out predictive analytics software, TryTracker, developed in association with the Rugby Football Union (RFU)Feature

Online gambling sector bets on business intelligence

Online gambling and gaming industries crave structured business data. Volumes can be huge and they need to react to customer behaviourFeature

Investigative analytics take a bite out of environmental crime

To delve deeper into increasingly complex environmental crimes, a nonprofit organization needed to solve data integration and analytics challenges.Feature

Performance management gap: Goals versus realities

Split personalities put data scientists in play

BI benefits in reach for SMBs, but some effort required

Strategies for de-cluttering business intelligence dashboard designs

Expert Brian Jordan shows business intelligence managers how to avoid developing dashboards that overwhelm business users with too much information.Tip

Making mobile BI applications a reality: Key steps to take

In a podcast, BI expert William McKnight discusses best practices and action items for managing deployments of mobile business intelligence tools.Podcast

Eckerson: Self-service business intelligence not a give-and-go affair

In an interview, TechTarget's Wayne Eckerson explains why there's more to self-service BI success than putting tools in the hands of business users.Q&A

In-memory technology pushes analytics boundaries, boosts BI speeds

In-memory appliances amp up business intelligence performance by moving processing off of disks. But cost and other issues need to be considered.Feature

As BI mobility takes off, don't get left behind -- or unprepared

Deployments of mobile business intelligence tools are spreading rapidly. Before you take the mobile BI plunge, read advice on how to make it work.From the Editors

Business intelligence basics not just a concern for BI beginners

Companies new to business intelligence need to focus on BI fundamentals. But lots of experienced BI teams still have some basic blocking and tackling to do, too.Intelligence File | 12 Apr 2013

Wixom: BI applications need visual appeal

Business intelligence teams should upgrade their visual design skills to create winning applications for BI users, says IT professor Barbara Wixom.Video

Business intelligence program needs long-term tending to fully blossom

The evolution of Quicken Loans' business intelligence strategy from static reporting to self-service BI holds useful lessons for other organizations.Intelligence File | 28 Mar 2013

Experts debate big data vs. SQL development

Traditional SQL databases may have lost mindshare with some app developers, but they're still the right choice for most projects, says one expert.Intelligence File | 20 Mar 2013

Mobile business intelligence applications: Not just a pretty interface

Back-end factors such as network performance and server hardware are key elements of building an effective mobile business intelligence architecture.Feature

Reducing cloud storage costs from BI, real data analysis

BI and data analytics are promising cloud apps, but data storage costs halt enterprise adoption. Data abstraction and other processes can cut costs.Tip

How to sell cloud BI services by filling in the gaps for customers

Cloud BI services offer customers real-time analysis without the capital expenses, but they can't do everything. That's where the channel comes in.Q&A

Pacific Northwest BI Summit 2012: 'Big data' analytics and more

Get insight on "big data" analytics, mobile collaboration and other business intelligence and data warehousing trends from participants at this year's Pacific Northwest BI Summit.Conference coverage

cloud analytics

Cloud analytics is a service model in which one or more key element of data analytics is provided through a public or private cloud.  Cloud analytics applications and services are typically provided through a subscription-based or utility (pay-per-use) model.Definition

SaaS BI app puts spotlight on corporate tickets

Three former employees of ticket reseller StubHub have created a Software as a Service application for tracking and analyzing the use of corporate tickets to sports and entertainment events.News | 21 Feb 2012

TDWI BI Executive Summit: Business intelligence benefits & strategies

Get news and other information resources about strategies for gaining business intelligence benefits, reported from the TDWI World Conference and BI Executive Summit in Las Vegas.Event coverage | 10 Feb 2012

Cloud business analytics full of promise but hitting barriers

Cloud analytics is expected to grow more rapidly than on-premises BI. As yet it confronts technical, performance and security barriers, but users like Cipal and Mindshare prove the concept.Feature | 09 Jan 2012

Business intelligence in the cloud: Is SaaS BI in your future?

The growth of cloud computing as an application platform means business intelligence teams should at least be prepared for the possibility of Software as a Service BI deployments, analysts say.News | 23 Dec 2011

2011 business intelligence (BI) challenges survey

Survey Slide Show

SaaS business intelligence eases BI deployments -- to a point

Software as a Service business intelligence tools can help fast-track BI projects, but they don’t eliminate BI’s complexity. Get advice on managing SaaS BI deployments from BI pros and analysts.News | 14 Dec 2011

When open source tools aren't the best BI software for an organization

Book author Lyndsay Wise explains why some companies might be better off sticking with traditional BI software instead of adopting open source tools.Book excerpt

Reasons for choosing open source business intelligence software

Book author Lyndsay Wise explains why open source business intelligence tools might be the way to go for organizations looking to deploy BI systems.Book excerpt

Do open source business intelligence tools meet your business goals?

Businesses must assess their goals and IT systems before weighing whether open source business intelligence is a good fit, says author Lyndsay Wise.Book excerpt

Lyndsay Wise: Open source BI software price, fit both must be right

In an interview, consultant and author Lyndsay Wise explains why open source BI tools are a good choice for some organizations but not others.Feature

Online gambling sector bets on business intelligence

Online gambling and gaming industries crave structured business data. Volumes can be huge and they need to react to customer behaviourFeature

Nicole Laskowski, News Editor

Nicole Laskowski covers business intelligence, analytics and corporate performance management topics for SearchBusinessAnalytics.com.Contributor

Business Intelligence, enterprise search: marriage in prospect, still no ring

Business intelligence and enterprise search are converging slowly but competing technology legacies are causing frustrationAnalysis | 15 Nov 2012

Geospatial data could transform the way government does business

With the help of geospatial data and visualization techniques, government can make decisions for constituents that are smarter and have more impact.News | 02 Nov 2012

Survey reveals growing interest in cloud BI and analytics

TechTarget's recent 2012 Cloud Pulse survey suggests cloud BI and analytics are edging closer to mainstream adoption.Feature

Apache Hadoop spurs hopes but creates hardships for analytics users

Described as cutting edge, hot, niche and hard to use, Hadoop, like all celebrities, has its shining moments and its dismal displays.Special Feature

Events report: Information Builders Summit 2013, graph databases and more

SearchDataManagement editors discuss the Information Builders user conference and two other events; topics include graph databases and 'data artists.'Conference Coverage

From 4GLs to HTML5 desktop apps: Bringing data to the masses

Advocating wider access to data, speakers at the Information Builders Summit 2013 traced a journey from 4GL tools to HTML5 desktop apps and beyond.Talking Data | 14 Jun 2013

inductive reasoning

Inductive reasoning is a logical process in which multiple premises, all believed true or found true most of the time, are combined to obtain a specific conclusion. Inductive reasoning is often used in applications that involve prediction, forecasting, or behavior.Definition

deductive reasoning

Deductive reasoning is a logical process in which a conclusion is based on the accordance of multiple premises that are generally assumed to be true.Definition

location intelligence (LI)

Location intelligence (LI) is a business analysis tool capability that enables companies to gather geographic- and location-related data to better understand global, regional and local business trends.Definition

Nicole Laskowski, News Editor

Nicole Laskowski covers business intelligence, analytics and corporate performance management topics for SearchBusinessAnalytics.com.Contributor

Departmental BI dashboarding needs enterprise view

Align departmental business intelligence dashboards with enterprise business intelligence (BI) and corporate strategy to avoid data silos.Feature

Rogers: Businesses shift from data warehouse to 'hybrid data ecosystem'

Businesses are integrating their data warehouses with other analytics systems to better manage different kinds of data, says consultant Shawn Rogers.Video

Pacific Northwest BI Summit 2012: 'Big data' analytics and more

Get insight on "big data" analytics, mobile collaboration and other business intelligence and data warehousing trends from participants at this year's Pacific Northwest BI Summit.Conference coverage

Information Builders, SQL Server breathe new life into BI platform

The commercial shipping industry's news and data provider spent the last three years overhauling its BI platform and data processing system.News | 11 Jun 2012

BI dashboards must dish up killer KPIs

Business intelligence dashboards yield business value by dishing up the right key performance indicators (KPIs)Feature

Report's advice, rankings outline data visualization platform market

A new report outlines the characteristics to consider in a data visualization platform, and the questions to ask before investing.News | 01 Aug 2012

What to do with BEx tools in a BOBJ world?

Allison Levine, senior SAP BI programmer, analyst and ASUG Enterprise Data Warehousing SIG chair discusses BEx strategy and which functions to migrate to SAP BusinessObjects applications.Podcast

Predictive analytics vendors design tools for business analysts

New research by Hurwitz & Associates focuses on predictive analytics trends and challenges and sheds light on the vendors who are meeting the demand for new functionality.News | 17 Oct 2011

BOBJ-enhanced SAP GRC 10.0 platform rolls out

SAP is releasing its SAP BusinessObjects GRC 10 platform, the latest update to its GRC suite of applications.News | 23 Mar 2011

SAP BusinessObjects unveils analytics software for specific industries

SAP has released new industry-specific analytics software as part of its SAP BusinessObjects 4.0 debut.News | 23 Feb 2011

SAP BusinessObjects 4.0 to offer fully integrated data management

The long-awaited SAP BusinessObjects 4.0 business intelligence platform hits the streets later this month and enterprise information management and in-memory will be a focus.News | 08 Feb 2011

SaaS BI suite helps group overcome Salesforce’s reporting limitations

When Salesforce.com’s native BI reporting capabilities proved insufficient, Genband looked to another SaaS application to pick up the slack.News | 19 Aug 2010

Survey: Aligning BI with users, funding among top BI challenges

Our new survey found that aligning BI with end-user requirements and getting executive buy-in topped the list of challenges facing BI professionals.News | 08 Jul 2010

SAP demonstrates BusinessObjects BI OnDemand

Watch SAP execs demonstrate the new SAP BusinessObjects BI OnDemand suite in this SaaS BI tutorial with news editor Jeff Kelly.Screencast

Online gambling sector bets on business intelligence

Online gambling and gaming industries crave structured business data. Volumes can be huge and they need to react to customer behaviourFeature

Report's advice, rankings outline data visualization platform market

A new report outlines the characteristics to consider in a data visualization platform, and the questions to ask before investing.News | 01 Aug 2012

Riding herd on Excel BI use isn't easy, but it's necessary

Eradicating the use of Excel in business intelligence applications turned out to be a pipe dream in most organizations. Now the focus is on controlling it -- as best you can.Analysis

BI, analytics and performance management software sees growth in 2011

Gartner’s 2011 revenue estimates indicate the worldwide BI, analytics and performance management software market experienced another strong year, with figures that look remarkably similar to 2010.News | 24 May 2012

Three tips on choosing hardware for your SQL Server BI system

So, you want to optimize SQL Server BI performance. If it’s partly prebuilt, you’re somewhat limited in providing input, but keeping these three things in mind when choosing your hardware will keep things running smoothly.Tip

Microsoft BI pro demonstrates PowerPivot for Excel

Michael Tejedor, a senior product manager with the Microsoft’s business intelligence (BI) group, demonstrates the self-service BI capabilities of PowerPivot.Screencast

Tips on how to properly use Excel for business intelligence projects

Learn how to properly use Excel for business intelligence projects, including advice on governing and securing your data sources and putting data governance processes in place.Answer

BI market eked out growth in 2009, but CPM sales stagnated

A strong fourth quarter helped the business intelligence (BI) market eke out positive growth in 2009, but CPM revenue remained flat for the year.News

Survey: Aligning BI with users, funding among top BI challenges

Our new survey found that aligning BI with end-user requirements and getting executive buy-in topped the list of challenges facing BI professionals.News | 08 Jul 2010

Collaborative decision making software: The future of BI?

Newly emerging collaborative decision making software platforms should help ensure that BI deployments really do lead to better business decisions.News | 11 Jun 2010

Rugby Football Union uses IBM predictive analytics for Six Nations

IBM tries out predictive analytics software, TryTracker, developed in association with the Rugby Football Union (RFU)Feature

Online gambling sector bets on business intelligence

Online gambling and gaming industries crave structured business data. Volumes can be huge and they need to react to customer behaviourFeature

Advanced analytics helps US Open build online sweet spot

Advanced analytics play a key role in combining entertainment, sports and business at the US Open.News | 05 Sep 2012

BI dashboards help South Leicestershire College track performance

A college administrator discusses the steps to implementing a BI and dashboard product at her college in central England to help decision making.Feature

Report's advice, rankings outline data visualization platform market

A new report outlines the characteristics to consider in a data visualization platform, and the questions to ask before investing.News | 01 Aug 2012

Report: Self-service BI software empowers users, takes pressure off IT

What are the must-have capabilities for self-service BI platforms? And what vendors are providing those functions? A new Forrester Wave report gives its take.News | 09 Jul 2012

BI, analytics and performance management software sees growth in 2011

Gartner’s 2011 revenue estimates indicate the worldwide BI, analytics and performance management software market experienced another strong year, with figures that look remarkably similar to 2010.News | 24 May 2012

IBM taps Varicent for its sales and performance management software

IBM continues its analytics buying spree with plans to acquire sales and performance management software company Varicent Software Inc.News | 13 Apr 2012

Predictive analytics vendors design tools for business analysts

New research by Hurwitz & Associates focuses on predictive analytics trends and challenges and sheds light on the vendors who are meeting the demand for new functionality.News | 17 Oct 2011

IBM to acquire security intelligence software company Q1 Labs

IBM has announced plans to acquire the Waltham, Mass.-based security intelligence software company Q1 Labs.News | 07 Oct 2011