Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing

Over the last several years, Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing have become the focus in organizational technology solutions.  As new software has become available, the focus on data warehousing has increased.  The most frequent concern when talking about Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing is how an organization can take tons of stored data, frequently spread over several different formats, and integrate it into a usable intelligence system, giving users the information they need in a timely manner.  This is one of the ultimate challenges for the Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing industry.

The goal of integrating Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing is figuring out how to present the information, once gathered and analyzed, in an easy to use format that is friendly to users and decision makers.  Many companies face the problem of how to combine data and Business Intelligence.  With increased opportunities to collect data, whether based on Internet hits, potential customer information collected on a website, or process related manufacturing data, figuring out how to use all the information to support effective decision making is key. 

Combining Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing can be a real challenge due to the fact that data mining processes already in place can present data in formats such as log files, flat data files and even call and email data files.  In addition, each department in an organization has disparate needs for data.  What data the Marketing and Sales Team requests may not be what the Finance, Operations and Logistics need, nor does it guarantee that they are even using the same databases for their data collection. It is easy to see why working on integrating Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence has been a major trend as of late. 

Once the information is put into a user-friendly format, internal team members, external suppliers and customers have the benefit of the collected data and reports.  ETL, or Extract, Tranform and Load solutions often create some of the best options for companies with many types of  data to pull together.  Once the data has been coordinated, it is possible to use a combination of open source and proprietary software together to create a unique solution that brings the data into a workable format with reports that support excellent decision making. 

When thinking about Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing, cost always comes into play.  Considering open-source software is an important step in maintaining the viability of a project with today’s economy and concerns over cost and liquidity.  With open-source software, companies have the ability to have a great deal of assistance with their data issues, without the overwhelming cost of user licensed products, which can run in the six figures. 

The goal when considering how to marry Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing is to create an affordable solution for the organization, while still providing the best overall product.  In addition, concerns about how many types of data a company collects and how they can be integrated into a Business Intelligence platform is a challenge for many companies.  Ultimately, flexibility, cost control and providing excellent analytic and predictive market intelligence are the goals when combining Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing.