Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence (BI)
Business intelligence refers to analytics and reporting features that turn raw ERP data into metrics and dashboards.
Business Intelligence: Not to be confused with
Business intelligence is NOT the same as a single report or a spreadsheet analysis. BI tools combine data from multiple sources, usually update automatically, and allow interactive exploration instead of static lists.
Gartner defines business intelligence as an umbrella term for applications, infrastructure and tools that enable access to and analysis of information to improve decisions and performance (Source 1). In an ERP context this ranges from simple metric dashboards to standalone BI platforms that combine data from ERP, CRM and other sources.
What matters for system selection is whether BI features are built in or need an external connection, see the profile fields in the systems overview.
Related terms
Sources for Business Intelligence
- Gartner, "Business Intelligence (BI)", IT Glossary ↗