Business intelligence software helps in transforming and shaping data into actionable insights. These can be studied by analysts before making important strategic and tactical business decisions. Business Intelligence tools automatically access and analyze various data sets and give out analytical findings in reports on the basis of the analysis. BI provides your team with comprehensive intelligence about the state of the business.

Business intelligence has changed and evolved a lot over the years. This has been done to include more functions and activities that will help improve performance. These functions include:

• Reporting: BI enables you to share data analysis to stakeholders which will help them to make critical decisions.
• Descriptive analytics: This function consists of studying preliminary data analysis.
• Statistical analysis: We can use statistical functions to study further the results of descriptive analysis.
• Data mining: Using databases, statistical analysis and techniques of machine learning to understand and study large datasets.
• Querying: BI gives you the answer automatically by studying the datasets.
• Data visualization: Data can be presented in graphical representations such as charts, graphs, and histograms which makes it more easy and interesting to consume data.
• Visual analysis: Understanding data through visual representations to as to not break the flow of analysis while communicating insights.
• Data preparation: BI can be used to compile multiple data sources, integrating it and preparing it for data analysis.