What is Business Intelligence Software?

Business Intelligence software or tools are a type of applications designed to retrieve, analyze and report data. Main goal of this tools is to speed up process of gathering data and their presentation-visualization in most convinient format for users for analysis and decision support. The software basically read the data that have been previously extracted, designed-prepared, and stored often, in a data warehouse (data mart) data repositories or directly from transaction systems. Visualization in form of tables and graphs is the main powerful feature of business intelligence software.

The list of certain Business Intelligence software vendors:

ActiveReports;  Actuate; Advanced Business Solutions; ApeSoft; Birst; ComArch; Data Applied; Decision Support Panel; Dundas Data Visualization, Inc.; Dimensional Insight; JasperSoft; Grapheur; IBM Cognos; IDV Solutions Visual Fusion; InetSoft; Informatica; Information Builders; InfoZoom; Izenda; Jreport; Klipfolio Dashboard; List & Label; LogiXML; Microsoft (SQL Server Reporting Services, SQL Server Analysis Services, PerformancePoint Server 2007, Proclarity); MicroStrategy; myDIALS; Oracle (Hyperion Solutions Corporation, Business Intelligence Suite Enterprise Edition); Panorama Software; Pentaho; Pervasive DataRush; PRELYTIS; ProcessEdge; Qliktech; SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence (Business Objects, OutlookSoft); SAS; Siebel Systems; Spotfire (now Tibco); Sybase IQ; Tableau Software; TARGIT Business Intelligence; Teradata; Thomson Data Analyzer; XLCubed; Yellowfin Business Intelligence; Zoho Reports;

According to Gartner big four holds two thirds of the 6 billoin worth business intelligence software market: IBM, SAP AG, Microsoft and Oracle. But there are also players that need to be watched like: Tableau Software Inc., QlikTech International AB,  Information Builders Inc., and Microstrategy Inc.

Definition of Business Intelligence software?

Business Intelligence software are a special type of applications designed to retrieve, analyze, report and visualize data from transaction Information Systems or data storage systems like Data Warehouse for Decision Support and Decision Making purposes.