1. Business intelligence tools include software and SaaS applications that better inform business decisions by bringing together and processing data from a variety of sources into a single data analytics platform that supports a variety of use cases such as embedded analytics, data visualization and augmented analytics for users of all skill levels.
2. Business intelligence software is a type of application software designed to retrieve, analyze, transform and report data for business intelligence. The applications generally read data that has been previously stored, often - though not necessarily - in a data warehouse or data mart.
3. Altogether, The BI & Analytics Survey compares 33 business intelligence tools (or groups of products) in detail. To be included in the detailed analysis a tool requires at least 30 user reviews. Since not all business intelligence tools are alike, we use peer groups to ensure similar products are compared against each other (see below for more.

1. Business Intelligence Tools Pdf
2. Business Intelligence Tools Examples

Zoho Analytics is a self-service business intelligence and analytics platform. A BI developer is responsible for creating, deploying, and managing business intelligence reporting tools and interfaces designed to solve specific problems within a company. A typical BI developer is versed in software engineering, databases, and data analysis. Responsibilities include translating business requirements into technical ones.

Business intelligence software is a type of application software designed to retrieve, analyze, transform and report data for business intelligence. The applications generally read data that has been previously stored, often - though not necessarily - in a data warehouse or data mart.

History[edit]

Development of business intelligence software[edit]

The first comprehensive business intelligence systems were developed by IBM and Siebel (currently acquired by Oracle) in the period between 1970 and 1990.^[1][2] At the same time, small developer teams were emerging with attractive ideas, and pushing out some of the products companies still use nowadays.^[3]

Business Intelligence Tools Pdf

In 1988, specialists and vendors organized a Multiway Data Analysis Consortium in Rome, where they considered making data management and analytics more efficient, and foremost available to smaller and financially restricted businesses. By 2000, there were many professional reporting systems and analytic programs, some owned by top performing software producers in the United States of America.^[4]

Cloud-hosted business intelligence software[edit]

In the years after 2000, business intelligence software producers became interested in producing universally applicable BI systems which don’t require expensive installation, and could hence be considered by smaller and midmarket businesses which could not afford on premise maintenance. These aspirations emerged in parallel with the cloud hosting trend, which is how most vendors came to develop independent systems with unrestricted access to information.^[5]

From 2006 onwards, the positive effects of cloud-stored information and data management transformed itself to a completely mobile-affectioned one, mostly to the benefit of decentralized and remote teams looking to tweak data or gain full visibility over it out of office. As a response to the large success of fully optimized uni-browser versions, vendors have recently begun releasing mobile-specific product applications for both Android and iOS users.^[6] Cloud-hosted data analytics made it possible for companies to categorize and process large volumes of data, which is how we can currently speak of unlimited visualization, and intelligent decision making.

Types[edit]

The key general categories of business intelligence applications are:

• Reporting and querying software: applications that extract, sort, summarize, and present selected data
• Online analytical processing (OLAP)
• Data warehouse^[7]
• Data cleansing^[8]

Except for spreadsheets, these tools are provided as standalone applications, suites of applications, components of Enterprise resource planning systems, application programming interfaces or as components of software targeted to a specific industry. The tools are sometimes packaged into data warehouse appliances.

Open source free products[edit]

• Apache Hive, hosted by the Apache Software Foundation
• BIRT Project, by the Eclipse Foundation

Open source commercial products[edit]

• JasperReports: reporting, analysis, dashboard
• Palo: OLAP server, worksheet server and ETL server
• Pentaho: reporting, analysis, dashboard, data mining and workflow capabilities
• TACTIC: reporting, management, dashboard, data mining and integration, workflow capabilities

Proprietary free products[edit]

Proprietary products[edit]

• GoodData - cloud-based
• Microsoft
• Oracle
• Pentaho (now Hitachi Data Systems)
• Qlik
• SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence
• Spotfire (now Tibco)
• Sybase IQ (now SAP IQ)
• Zoho Analytics (as part of the Zoho Office Suite)

References[edit]

1. ^'History of Business Intelligence Software'. business-intelligence.financesonline.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
2. ^'A Detailed Look At The History Of Business Intelligence Software'. comparecamp.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
3. ^'Integrating Oracle Business Intelligence / Siebel Analytics with Siebel CRM', oracle.com,.
4. ^'Applied Multiway Data Analysis', onlinelibrary.wiley.com,.
5. ^'Cloud BI: 5 Benefits of Cloud Business Intelligence', compudata.com,.
6. ^'Mobile business intelligence brings benefits -- and barriers', searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com,.
7. ^Exploring Data Warehouses and Data Quality Published by Spotless Data Retrieved 15 May, 2017]
8. ^Exploring Data Analysis Published by Spotless Data Retrieved 15 May, 2017]

Work smarter, not harder! This is the motto of most entrepreneurs in the business world and has been a big contributor to their success.

Small startups and renowned companies have their differences in their processes, but they all share one common thing: the requirement of actionable insights to succeed in doing business.

Everything in the world of business is changing and becoming more competitive. One thing that has led brands to break into competitive markets is the proper use of data analytics and business intelligence.

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What is business intelligence?

Business intelligence refers to the computer software, tools, and practices that collect, integrate, analyze and present raw data of an organization to create informative and actionable business information.

Business intelligence tools include data visualization, data warehousing, dashboards, and reporting. These tools are useful in providing insights leading to business growth. Besides that, they can resolve issues that are urgent, collect all the data in one place and forecast future outcomes for a business.

As more businesses are turning to business intelligence (BI) tools, the market of BI tools is continually expanding and has been expected to grow at 7.1% through to the year 2025. These market expansions are expected with technological strides, which is helping businesses to grow.

However, with the plethora of business intelligence tools on the market, choosing the most effective one for you can be overwhelming. In this article, we look at 5 business intelligence tools for small and big businesses to help you narrow down your options.

The best business intelligence tools

1. Sisense

Social studies 8 textbook. Making business decisions has never been easier. With BI software Sisense, businesses and companies can collect, analyze and view data to devise strategic plans and make sound business decisions.

Business Intelligence Tools Examples

Using its drag and drop functionality, the tool collects all the needed information on a dashboard and provides a rough view of the data. It enables the user to analyze and visualize big datasets instantly. Besides that, you can come up with reliable analysis using visual reports, making the process faster and easier. It has an easy-to-use interface and allows you to learn the navigation system quickly.

In addition to that, Sisense offers initial data crunching for beginners working with the business intelligence system for the first time. Apart from that, if you are looking for scalability and flexibility, you are in for a treat.

The unique features of Sisense include:

• Exclusive technology – that runs regular queries to receive your data, so you don’t have to prepare data whenever a new question arises
• Single-stack architecture – one tool that can do it all – collect, prepare, organize and analyze data.
• The amalgamation of charts from multiple sources – Sisense’ superpower is to recognize and bring together charts and graphs from various data sources and combine the data without having the user prepare it.
• Optimal use of resources – no need to hire professionals to analyze data, maintain sophisticated hardware or make an excessive IT investment.
• Minimal learning curve – the platform doesn’t require manual mashups, nor does it need special scripts to learn. Besides that, all data analysis operations are conducted in the same system. This means you don’t have to invest in data warehouses or professional maintenance services while using Sisense.

2. Zoho Analytics

Next in our list is the data analytics platform Zoho Analytics. Previously known as Zoho Reports, this analytics tool was upgraded into robust self-service business intelligence, data analytics, and online reporting platform. It identifies trends, monitors key business metrics and determines any outliers.

In laymen terms, Zoho Analytics is a bird’s eye view of the performance and growth of various industries by consolidating data from different sources. Another thing that makes Zoho Analytics a great tool for businesses is its scalable data engine. With this, it is easy for the user to process data, no matter how extensive it may be.

The unique features of Zoho Analytics include:

• Streamlined Data Gathering – Zoho Analytics enables the user to easily sync and import data into the system. It accesses various on-premise databases, cloud storage platforms, and other applications. Not just that, it also formats and deletes any duplicate information present in the system.
• Chart Creation and Visualisation – Zoho Analytics allows the user to create animated videos, infographics, and charts without having the need for spreadsheets or a separate system. All that you have to do is choose the report you want. Whether it is 3D animation to explain your business, or creating infographics full of relevant statistics. You can do it all by using the drag and drop navigation feature of the tool.
• Built-in Collaboration Tools – using Zoho allows you to access collaborative workspaces with built-in communication options. This feature enables you to share reports while discussing the data in a secure environment.
• Open API Capabilities – extend the capabilities of the platform using its open API tool. This lets you integrate the system with your existing applications so that you do not have to jump from software to software to handle operations. The open API also makes it easy to collect and sync data.

3. Wyn Enterprise

One of the most powerful browser-based report designers, Wyn Enterprise is a business intelligence tool designed to help companies create reports and dashboards. The platform offers out-of-the-box functions, including self-service BI, multisource data integration, streamlined data modeling, data visualization, online document designing, and data reporting.

Wyn Enterprise has a user-friendly interface that is suitable for both technical experts and non-technical users to capitalize on data opportunities with ease.

The unique features of Wyn Enterprise include:

• Easy to use – one thing that helps Wyn stand out from the others in this list is its ease of use. The platform allows the user to create reports and dashboards with no research required.
• Multidata source integration – not only does the platform support different formats of data, but it also allows the user to pull different data types such as cloud data, program data, database, and locally stored file data.
• Wyn dashboards – Wyn Enterprise provides a user-friendly dashboard that enables the user to display data analysis creatively. In addition to that, it provides filters, cross filters, a designer integrated viewer, auto-refresh and data visualization features.

4. Qualtrics Research Core

Cloud-based research software Qualtrics Research Core is a powerful business analytics tool built for small businesses as well as large enterprises. It’s a reliable online survey solution that can empower brands and market researchers across industries including retail, media, B2B, travel, and hospitality.

It boasts features such as project management, multi-channel survey distribution, real-time analysis, reporting and more. The platform streamlines online surveys and makes everything easy to track for customer engagement.

Qualtrics is easy to use, yet it consists of amazing tools, which can boost business processes. Not only can you create surveys in less than a minute, but you can then distribute that survey to multiple channels. It simplifies the analysis and visualization of data enabling organizations to drive business growth through actionable insights about the business.

Some unique features of Qualtrics Research Core:

• Easy to customize survey templates – this feature is something that makes Qualtrics a worthy part of this list. It is a tool with customizable survey templates for marketers, enabling them to create a survey based on customer demographics and collected data.
• Simulation – the platform comes with a powerful simulation tool, which can streamline product configuration and pricing analysis.
• Multi-channel survey distribution – the research software allows the user to distribute surveys through multiple channels; helping you reach your target audience comfortably.
• Market analysis – one amazing feature of Qualtrics is that it enables users to understand market trends enabling you to improve your brand perception.

5. Microsoft Power BI

Any list of business intelligence tools is not complete without Microsoft Power BI. Users can identify trends in real-time with data visualization. Because it’s web-based, Microsoft Power BI can be accessed from pretty much anywhere. This software also allows users to integrate their apps and deliver reports and real-time dashboards.

Unique features of Microsoft Power BI:

• Works in seconds. It is easy and free to sign up with amazing features. For getting the extra features, you might have to pay a little amount which is very affordable.
• Excel spreadsheets, cloud services, streaming data, and on-premise databases – no matter where your data lives or what form it’s in, you get a holistic view of the key metrics for your business.
• Instantly know when your business needs your attention with real-time Power BI dashboards. Solve problems as they occur and seize opportunities as soon as they arise.

Wrapping up

All these business intelligence tools have distinct features – which means choosing the right one is challenging. Sisense is my recommendation. It is scalable and has powerful yet easy to use tools.

Learn insights about your business by using business intelligence software and make your way to the top of the hill with unique information. Use your creativity to make charts and graphs, do research and make your business outshine your competitors.

Guest author: Zeeshan Lalani is a writer who likes to turn the raw information into words that makes it interesting for the readers. He has also worked as a professional business consultant with Animation Dok. A business graduate, and a passionate writer are the words that can exactly define who I am.