Business-intelligence software companies have long promised to help business executives access enterprise data directly. Their time may have arrived. After the huge enterprise data directly. Their time may have arrived. After the huge investment in database infrastructure in the ‘80s and enterprise infrastructure to track information about customers, supply chains, and employees in the ‘90s, companies are struggling to actually make use of all that data – and it’s very slow going. For example, companies use only about 5 to 10 percent of the information they collect in databases or data warehouses. The market research firm IDC forecasts that the annual growth rate for business-intelligence software will average around 14 percent through 2006. Vendors that focus primarily on business intelligence have the advantage of tools that are more powerful and user – friendly, that can be customized, and that run across incompatible databases.
By: Stacy Lawrence
Source: RED HERRING