The ability to create an immediate ‘request for information’ using an analytical reporting tool for a special purpose or to answer a specific business question.

Business Intelligence is a broad category of applications and technologies for gathering, storing, analyzing, and providing access to data to help clients make better business decisions.

Software or web-based services (SaaS) that enables business users to see, use, and make sense of, large amounts of complex data.

A business metric is any type of measurement used to gauge some quantifiable component of a company’s performance, such as return on investment, employee and student counts, revenues and expenses, etc.

Cloud computing is the use of a 3rd party service, such as Indicee, to perform computing needs on a publicly accessible IP basis. The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet. Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online which are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers rather than on the user’s own computer.

A user interface that organizes and presents information in an easy-to-read format. Help align actions with strategy by tracking and analyzing key business metrics and goals. Enable proactive management through “what-if” analysis, customer segmentation, forecasting and analyzing business processes.

Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions.

This is an emerging discipline that embodies a convergence of data quality, data management, business process management, and risk management surrounding the handling of data in an organization.

This concept describes the retrieval and organization of business data from various sources producing a unified view for the end user; easier said than done.

A data mart is a logical subset of related information, usually built around one or a few business processes, or a specific subject area.  An example is the Student Income Data Mart, which holds student and income details for UofT Graduate and Undergraduate Students.

The term mash-up refers to a new breed of Web-based applications, such as Indicee, that enable users to mix at least two different data sets from disparate, and even competing sources. A mash-up, for example, could overlay or combine web traffic data from Google Analytics with your ERP or sales data. The term mash-up comes from the hip-hop music practice of mixing two or more songs. This ability to mix and match data from multiple sources into one datamart is considered by many to represent the future of business intelligence.

Using computers to find patterns in data.

Data quality pertains to aspects such as availability, completeness, accuracy, consistency, relevance and timeliness of data. High data quality is essential to business intelligence’s role as a means of decisional support. Poor data quality examples: missing fields, old or inaccurate information, data conflicts, inaccessible data in legacy systems.

A graphic representation of data; it is a way to clearly and effectively communicate information through graphical means.

A repository of corporate or institutional data that is organized in a way that is meaningful for Business Analysis and Reporting. It may also store historical information.  A data warehouse is a collection of data marts.

A collection of data arranged for ease and speed of search and retrieval. A database is organized in such a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data. You can think of a database as an electronic filing system.

Dimensions are the smallest tables in the data warehouse, and the real “meat” is actually the set of numeric measurements in the Fact tables. They are the entry points, the labels, the groupings, the drill-down paths for your user interface.

A component of data analysis. The term “drill down” is the process of finding more detailed data by displaying data at a lower level than was previously show. “Drill up” is the process of finding less detailed data by displaying data at a higher level of aggregation.

Popular acronym for a broader category of enterprise software systems. Enables businesses to integrate data used throughout the organization in functions such as finance, human resources and administration.

Key business statistics such as number of new orders, cash collection efficiency, and return on investment (ROI), which measure a firm’s performance in critical areas. KPIs show the progress (or lack of it) toward realizing the firm’s objectives or strategic plans by monitoring activities which (if not properly performed) would likely cause severe losses or outright failure.

The sum of all documentation about the data warehousing process in its entirety. Metadata describes the contents of the data warehouse, its structure, and the processes involved in its setup. Metadata should be updated as the system evolves. Essentially, metadata is all the information in the data warehouse environment that is not the actual data itself.

Measures of performance that monitor progress and assess trends within an organization. A metric is the comparison of two or more measures.

Online Analytical Processing.  OLAP is a category of database software which provides an interface such that users can quickly and interactively examine the results in various dimensions of the data.  OLAP primarily involves aggregating large amounts of diverse data. OLAP can involve millions of data items with complex relationships. Its objective is to analyze these relationships and look for patterns, trends, and exceptions.

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a universal file format that preserves the fonts, images, graphics, and layout of any source document, regardless of the application and platform.  A PDF format may the default for a UTBI managed web report.

A measure of some activity related to an organization’s/unit’s business performance

A Power User is an information analyst who generally has responsibility for analyzing data and deriving meaningful information from that data.  Power Users have an excellent understanding of their data and the underlying definitions, and know how to query it to produce the results they need.

A type of cloud computing which delivers a single application through a web browser to customers using a multitenant architecture. On the customer side, it means no upfront investment in servers or software licensing; on the provider side, with just one app to maintain, costs are low compared to conventional hosting. Salesforce.com is by far the best-known example among enterprise applications, but consumers may be more familiar with SaaS services such as Google’s Gmail or Google Docs. Saas is also common for HR apps and has even worked its way up the food chain to ERP applications.

This term has evolved from the specific program of business evaluation made popular by the book called “The Balanced Scorecard” into meaning any kind of general business Report Card (parent’s signature required).

In broad terms this is a software structure that separates the core development code (stuff that doesn’t change frequently) from the more volatile aesthetic code for, say, website design (that does change frequently).

This is any IT configuration created outside the supervision of the IT department; it includes Spreadsheets

A term used to describe a function at the core of informational analysis. Multidimensional tools allow users to view data from any angle. The ability to select various angles to view data from is called slice and dice capability. Rotating the presentation between rows, columns and pages is a feature built into crosstabs and pivot tables.

A Spreadmart refers to the expanding number of spreadsheets inside your business. Reducing or eliminating spreadmarts is generally regarded as a step toward good Data Governance and is one of the key missions of Indicee!

Business information buried in emails, memos, notes, etc.