In order to make forward-looking decisions on pricing and product offerings, a growing number of companies are turning to business intelligence software to help automate real-time data collection and analysis. Previous generations of business technology tools relied upon independent spreadsheets, which were reviewed by analysts to come up with proposals for management; today, executives can review company performance in real-time, allowing them to adapt budgets and offerings more quickly in response to shifts in the market.
Pentaho Open Source Intelligence
As one of the most complete Open Source intelligence applications, Pentaho has been adopted by a number of leading corporations including Oracle, Sun Microsystems and IBM. Founded in 2004 by former IBM executives, the software has evolved to become a multi-platform java-based software package to provide a complete suite of offerings ranging from OLAP analysis to data mining and dashboard creation.
IBM Cognos
Independent for decades, Cognos formally became a subsidiary of IBM last year and has grown to one of the most widely adopted business intelligence packages with industry-specific solutions. In the 8th generation of its software release, nearly every company can find a custom solution tailored to unique KPIs (key performance indicators.)
SAP Business Objects
Founded in Paris, SAP Business Objects has expanded to over 40,000 world wide customers and now operates from Silicon Valley as a part of SAP after its 2007 acquisition. The third generation Business Objects software features specialized reporting features that bring together various corporate data sources to produce “Crystal” reports, known for their clear interpretations of data.
