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Data & Analytics

What is Business Intelligence?

Quick answer

Tools and practices that collect, analyze, and present business data, usually through reports and dashboards, to support decisions.

Business Intelligence, explained

Business intelligence, commonly called BI, turns raw data into information people can act on. BI platforms connect to data sources such as sales systems, accounting software, and data warehouses, then let users build reports, charts, and interactive dashboards. Well-known tools include Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, and Looker.

For example, a restaurant group could use a BI dashboard to compare daily sales, labour costs, and popular dishes across locations, spotting which sites need menu or staffing changes. BI mainly describes what has happened and why, while predictive analytics estimates what may happen next. The value of BI depends heavily on data quality and consistent definitions. Dashboards built on messy or conflicting data can mislead rather than inform.

Related terms

Data Visualization

Presenting data as charts, graphs, maps, or other visuals so patterns, trends, and outliers are easier to understand.

Data Warehouse

A system that stores cleaned, structured data from many sources, optimized for reporting and business analysis.

Key Performance Indicator

A measurable value that shows how effectively a person, team, or company is achieving an important objective.

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