What is Business Intelligence

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE IS A FORM of business management that takes business forward by the proper use of available information and data. Getting ahead in the competition requires essential analysis of the fact-based data associated with a particular industry then this suggests the necessary action for driving the business towards profit oriented. So it’s the ability to use existing information i.e. the data the company already owns in a productive manner.

The operational system of a small industry or a vast organization deals with a huge amount of data related to product, market, customer, technology etc. etc. but they hardly exploit those data in a profitable way or giving a boost to their business. These data can be taken into strategic analysis and treated as valuable information input for better application in respective field. Data generally includes reports form government agencies, trade associations, business analysts, Internet, and many other sources but the hidden knowledge in these kinds of data needs to be explored and applied for developing successful corporate strategies.

It assists in answering the following general but essential questions that every industry needs to know for improving corporate performance:

• Who are the best and worst customers? It is important to identify the needs of customer and categories them as best and worst and then concentrate on any particular section for increasing sales by taking proper measures.
• What are the factors responsible for increasing and decreasing sales?
• What more one can offer customers comparing to others?
• Which products or areas responsible for gaining or losing money?

Keeping in mind such questions the concept of Business Intelligence identify, analyze and monitor corporate trends, competitor and market status, and later point out basic requirements for improving the knowledge and performance of the enterprise as a whole. There are various application and technology including business management software available to generate business value that can be acted as catalyst for growth. Hence, it is the technology that transfers data into productive information for creating some innovative business ideas.