| Business Intelligence | Today, Tools and Tomorrow | | Team 5 | 10/12/2010 |

Final PaperBusiness XXXX |

Introduction

Business Intelligence Today
Business Intelligence has different meanings and uses to different people. If you were to look Business Intelligence up on Wikipedia it will tell you Business Intelligence, “refers to the computer based techniques used in spotting, digging-out, and analyzing business data…” and that it “often aims to support better business decisions”. Many people only think of the data needed to understand the competition and others think of BI as the information that is confidential to their business. Today Business Intelligence is all of this and so much more.
Business intelligence used successfully can be a powerful tool utilized for competitive advantage. To ensure success, companies must understand the importance of accuracy in the data they have gathered together. If the data they have pulled together is not accurate then the information that will be used to make business decisions could potentially cause poor or misdirected decisions having huge negative impacts on their organizations. During a time when the economy has taken such a down turn this can make or break an organization.
One industry where business intelligence is being utilized heavily is insurance. The insurance industry in the past few years has taken a huge hit on their credibility. To ensure competitive advantage they must utilize their BI to ensure that they are making decisions not only in the best interest of their customers but in many cases their stockholders as well. They have learned that understanding and knowing their customers is critical to their success.
One area the insurance companies are utilizing BI is in the area of setting rates for employers. There are two things they are looking at to determine these new rates