Business intelligence (BI) tools provide organizations with the data they need to make informed decisions quickly and effectively. These tools allow users to extract, organize, analyze, and visualize the data in various ways, which helps provide insight into various aspects of their operations.
Common BI tools include:
- Data Warehousing: Used to store large volumes of raw data from multiple sources and access it quickly.
- Online Analytical Processing (OLAP): A type of software that enables users to interactively explore vast amounts of data by drilling down into different dimensions, allowing them to view summarized information in a new way.
- ETL Tools: Extracts data from multiple sources, transforms it into usable formats, and loads it into a centralized location.
- Data Mining: Used to identify patterns and trends in large datasets. It is used for predictive analytics which can be used for forecasting or helping develop marketing strategies.
- Dashboards & Visualization Tools: Allows users to quickly view data in an attractive visual format such as diagrams, graphs or charts. This helps simplify complex information so it can be easily understood at a glance.