This report is an examination of the business intelligence systems offered to our company. Throughout this document I will discuss the overall general purpose of business intelligence systems and identify how the company can benefit from purchasing the software. In order to adequately discussion Business Intelligence (BI) one must first understand the meaning of this term. Business Intelligence

Business Intelligence (BI) is defined by IBM as, “the discipline that combines services, applications and technologies to gather, manage and analyze data, transforming it into usable information to develop insight and understanding needed to make informed decisions.” (IBM.com, 2006) In its most basic form, BI is an umbrella principle that synergizes the core understanding of your business, including all of its facets, and acting on what that foundation is made up of.

As an introduction, I will address in general terms why we need to purchase a business intelligence system and how it will aid our business. Then I will discuss several applications in detail, paying particular attention to the information and analysis capabilities of each, and the hardware and software required for each. Finally, I will conclude with a short evaluation of the products discussed and offer a recommendation as to the best application for our business. I will pay particular attention to IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Oracle.

References
Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence. Retrieved 10