Explore Business Intelligence

What is Business Intelligence?

Business intelligence (BI) refers to the field within business that relates to the collection and use of data. While it is often assumed that business intelligence is the same thing as business analytics, they actually differ slightly. Business intelligence is specifically about reviewing existing data, while business analytics deals with predictions and statistics.

Due to the high levels of technology used by most companies around the world, business intelligence activities are vital to the success of an organization. BI can be used to review limitless types of data for countless reasons, but it is often used to identify data that is needed for company decisions and activities. Business intelligence examples include performance reports that are reviewed across industries. For example, a manager might review the average sales per hour for a diner to determine how well the business is for the day, and possibly to determine if there are too many employees clocked in. Most businesses use some level of business intelligence tools, although the degree to which they are used can vary drastically.

For most companies, the data that a manager wants to review is typically raw when first accessed. Without training, an individual probably would not understand the data and then would be unable to use the data to improve efficiency. A manager might not even understand how to access that raw data using the software that houses it, as many databases are not user-friendly to novice users. Business intelligence is the bridge for this gap. Learning about business intelligence can enable an individual to not only understand how to navigate the software programs but also how to identify, translate and apply the data that is retrieved in real-time. Prepared reports may be provided to managers periodically, but an understanding of BI means that they can bypass the wait and review available data immediately.