Business Intelligence – or BI – is a solution, which makes it possible for a company to use heterogeneous corporate and market data from a range of sources to evaluate its current status and assess future potential.

Business Intelligence provides a basis for decision-making by finding and merging information proactively. BI offers companies a standard reporting system and enables data mining. Companies can then use this information to forecast future development and will be alerted if things aren’t going as planned.

BI has long ceased to be a luxury – it is now a sign of good performance management. Data quality has become quite a tricky issue for managers, because of legal requirements for Corporate Governance and other regulations, such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act or Basel II.

What this really means is that if you want to show that you are in control of your business, you have to be able to supply reliable information and supply it fast.