Page 65 - DCAP606_BUSINESS_INTELLIGENCE

Business Intelligence

Notes Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:
State the Factors affecting Business Intelligence Solutions

Discuss the Key Benefit Areas of BI
Explain the Microsoft Business Intelligence Platform Capabilities
Identify the Business Intelligence Platform Requirements
Describe the Analysis Services Tools

Introduction

Microsoft Business Intelligence solutions leverage your existing technology investments in
.NET, SQL Server and Office to develop rich integrated reporting and analytics experiences that
empower users to gain access to accurate, up-to-date information for better, more relevant
decision making. If you are seeking comprehensive, server-based reporting service designed to
help you author, manage, and deliver both paper-based and interactive Web-based reports, the
Microsoft Business Intelligence platform is an ideal service to provide fast, reliable reporting
services. This unit provides an introduction to Business Intelligence and to Microsoft BI after
discussing factors affecting BI and its key benefit areas.

5.1 Factors Affecting

The following are some key factors that determine a company’s choice of BI solutions:

5.1.1 Power

A significant component working out the alternative of an analytical application is its power or
functionality. A number of BI tools, such as Cognos PowerPlay, have robust analytical capabilities
that allow specialized users in companies to quickly perform complicated database analysis.
Usually, the client population for analysis-heavy devices comprises of more accomplished
workers such as financial analysts and administration.
5.1.2 Usability

Though some mighty tools are in the market, lack of client friendliness is a barrier to adoption
that has often frustrated business users and kept them from utilizing the full worth of analytic
applications. If the users of an analytical submission are business staff, picking a solution that is
easy to discover and use key to achieving affirmative comes back. Office XP devices such as Excel
are high on the usability scale because they enable business users to support BI purposes through
the use of desktop tools they are already familiar with.

5.1.3 Compatibility with Existing Technology

If companies are following best-of-breed expertise schemes, the solution must support fast
integration with third-party and home-grown applications and databases. In evolving its BI
platform, Microsoft has leveraged the compatibility of SQL Server with databases such as Oracle
9i and DB2. Companies can use the SQL Server 2000 for the Oracle Customer kit to link the two
databases and alleviate the task of managing the two databases.

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