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Business intelligence software represents one tool in a larger stack that's necessary for analysis work. Nearly all BI analytics solutions can interact with other forms of software, and you'll likely need some of these additional tools to handle projects. Consequently, it's important to have a general idea of what you'll need to make your business intelligence software tools work.
Database
Databases are among the most basic elements of most BI software integration efforts. You're going to collect data before doing analysis, and that information has to go somewhere. Likewise, new datasets will emerge from your analysis, and they also need a home.
There is a reason why BI analytics solutions don't just have built-in database functionality. The average BI analytics software user has already committed to a particular database. Rather than needlessly discouraging those users from adopting an analytics package, it's better to provide integration tools for whatever environment the users prefer.
Notably, that doesn't mean a new adopter has to study databases and decide which one works for them. BI analytics solutions frequently have either default databases available at the time of installation or the option to add databases post-installation. Likewise, some users will need to install support for multiple databases based on their preferred software ecosystems.
Spreadsheets
Business intelligence software almost always provides spreadsheet capabilities out of the box. The prevalence of established office productivity suites, though, means that users will likely need spreadsheet programs either for internal purposes or to send files to others. Excel reigns supreme, and that means most users will want to be able to edit and manipulate tables before saving spreadsheets to the Excel format.
Backup and Storage Solutions
With so much data going into analysis on any given workday, it's hard for users to manually keep up with storing their data safely. You need to have an automated system that will make backup copies of your data. If you don't, there's a risk that a system failure or a power outage could wipe out anywhere from hours to years of work in the blink of the eye.
Many users also like to have versioning systems in place. These allow them to keep tabs on older copies of their projects so they know what version of the database they're looking at. Not only does this prevent data loss, but it also allows you to revert to an older version. You might need to revert the data for a slew of reasons, such as human error or the need to test a different hypothesis.
To learn more, contact a resource that offers BI analytics software.
Share10 May 2021
