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An Analysis of Business Intelligence Systems

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This report is an analysis of business intelligence systems currently available to our business. As an introduction, I will address in general terms why we need to purchase a business intelligence system and how it will aid our business. Then I will discuss several applications in detail, paying particular attention to the information and analysis capabilities of each, and the hardware and software required for each. Finally, I will conclude with a short evaluation of the products discussed and offer a recommendation as to the best application for our business. I will pay particular attention to IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Oracle. First off, why do we need a business intelligence system for our business? Simply put, an effective …show more content…

In a SAP environment, the Cognos application helps consolidate and make more efficient the reporting, planning, and scorecarding functions. Finally, in an Oracle environment the Cognos application effectively combines with already existing Oracle and PeopleSoft databases, gateways, and applications to allow for a virtually seamless integration. From an integration standpoint, Cognos seems to be the business intelligence application that readily fits into almost any existing environment. I looked at IBM next. IBM is a well-recognized and established name in Information Technology. It offers a broad business intelligence application capability, so consequently we need to decide exactly where our data management needs really lie. IBM can offer wide-ranging consulting services from incorporating specific software applications to solve specific needs, to totally overhauling our already existing IT architecture and business intelligence system to make it more efficient. As already stated, IBM relies on Cognos for some of its business intelligence applications and these seem to be easily integrated with almost any other environment. Additionally, Cognos offers the most popular OLAP software used today. Oracle was the next company that I looked at. As already stated above, Oracle is closely associated with Hyperion applications, although it does offer a very comprehensive business

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