Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
11
Data Delivery: What you
Finally See
Data delivery is one of the most exciting parts of the entire DW project.
You finally get to see the results of all the hard work. All of the input that
went into gathering requirements and developing the data model fed into the
construction of the database finally comes together. As soon as some sample
data is loaded, the team can start building reports and screens where you can
see the data. Excitement begins to build because the finished product is within
sight. In many cases, this is what was ''sold'' as the data warehouse project
result. Delivery of the data can take many different forms depending upon the
job function and the need for data to support that work. In this chapter you
will learn about the following:
Business intelligence (BI) — what is it?
The basic building blocks of a BI application
Understanding different levels of use
Building a BI application
Planning for a successful launch
This chapter provides an introduction to these concepts but it is not intended
to be a complete reference guide for BI. To get started, let's take a look at what
BI is and how it can work.
What Is Business Intelligence?
Business intelligence is a broad all-encompassing term that is used to describe
a wide variety of different types of data access.
Business intelligence
is the collec-
tion of one or more reports or analyses that provide insight into performance
of a business organization. These reports and analyses are typically interactive
to enable further understanding of specific areas of interest. These are used to
support business professionals in their decision-making processes.
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