Business Intelligence Systems - Essay Example

There are rapidly escalating challenges throughout the business world today. The economic environment certainly does not help but the problems go well beyond that issue. Communication and sharing of information and goals have risen as one of the better ways to improve the business environment of today. The need to act quickly when there has been either an internal or external environmental change is crucial to survival and profit at this time.

In the past, many kinds of business intelligence software have been tried and many corporations have been disappointed but its time may have not come yet. It is here now. It is a great need. This paper will talk about the importance of business intelligence systems and compare four companies that presently have systems on the market.  Today's companies are forced to cut back on capital spending, the cost of operations, and focus on the core competencies of each organization (Gartner, 2009).

Yet, with all of these issues, new doors have opened including those of eCommerce and globalization in which the profitable players are spending their time and funds. To play in that sandbox though, corporations must have access to information rapidly and it must be reported in such a way that the information can be communicated across the scope of the organization quickly. This is where business intelligence software comes in (Gartner, 2009). Business intelligence software is a tool to help an organization gain a greater understanding of operations, markets, and competition.

BI interprets data and transforms the information into insights that are used to guide strategy formation. They are outcome-based information systems. Metrics matter more than they ever have before and BI will help design the metrics and tie them to the outcomes data generated (Bhatnagar, 2009). This software will also help in determining performance indicators. The dashboard validates the business adage that "you can't manage what you don't measure." The dashboard in a BI system is frontline and available not only to the C suite but to the very people that are creating the outcome.