In view of the ever-increasing use of BI solutions in your business, we've put together a new fact sheet for B2B professionals who want to familiarize themselves with the vocabulary of Business Intelligence in 2024.

E

  • ERP 

Management of all company information via an integrated IT system.

  • Export

Data transfer in a format that can also be used by other programs.

  • ETL

Software that retrieves data from any source (operational applications, externally purchased market research, open data, etc.) and in any structure (database, TXT files, Excel files, data from web services, etc.).

Once these data have been processed, such as verification (functional consistency, rejection management for false or inconsistent data), data creation (date slicing to calculate the year, quarter, month, etc.) and measurement design, they are deposited in the decision-making database(s) known as the data marts.

F

  • Filter

Mechanism that saves specific information from reports or excludes it depending on what the user decides to filter.

  • Forecasting

Forecast or estimate of the future.

  • MDX (Multi Dimensional eXpression) functions

Functions for performing calculations on hierarchically organized data.

G

  • Gap-Analysis

An analysis to find out whether the data a company possesses can meet its expectations, and possibly determine whether there are any missing elements.

I

  • Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

Benchmarks against which company data can be measured. The results are presented in the form of a scorecard or evaluation report, enabling management, supervisors and employees to assess performance and determine whether or not the objective has been achieved.

  • Indicator

Association of several measurements to describe the situation.

  • Infocenter

The forerunner of business intelligence databases. This is a copy of the operational application's database. In this way, analysts have a dedicated database at their disposal, without slowing down the operational application due to too many simultaneous accesses to the same database.

  • Application Programming Interface (API)

Application Programming Interface" is an IT solution that enables two software programs to communicate with each other using a programming language.

K

  • KPI

KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. In French "indicateur clé de performance" 😉

A KPI is a measurable performance indicator. It is used to evaluate the effectiveness of an action, equipment, organization or process in relation to a set objective.

There is a wide variety of key performance indicators. Their choice will depend to a large extent on the objective to be achieved and the strategy implemented.

L

  • Lead generation

Use of a program, database or specialized service to acquire qualified contacts in order to generate new sales.

M

  • Metadata

Data that contains information to describe or define other data. For example, for an image, metadata can include the resolution, the time the photo was taken, etc.

  • Metrics

Performance measurements to observe progress and assess trends within an organization.

  • Measurement

Calculated data used to measure activity: sales, payroll, work-in-progress, etc.

  • Data model

Describes in abstract terms how data is represented in a business organization, information system or database.

O

  • OLAP (Online Analytical Processing)

Computer processing that enables the user to easily select and display data from different perspectives.

  • ODBC (Open Database Connectivity)

Application Programming Interface (API) used to access a database.

  • Restitution tool

A family of software packages designed to help users produce reports.

R

  • Report

Document containing various dashboards.

  • Ad-hoc report

Simple report produced in just a few clicks by the end-user.

S

  • Diagram

Structure that defines the organization of data in a database.

  • Slice and dice

A term used to break data into smaller chunks, or to view data from different perspectives in order to better understand it.

  • Snapshot

Display data at a given point in time.

  • Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS is a software distribution model in which certain applications are made available to customers (usually via the web).

  • Structured Query Language (SQL)

International standard for data manipulation; used in particular for ad hoc queries.

  • Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Defines the set of resources, means, methods, tools and techniques designed to manage the global supply chain as efficiently as possible, from the first supplier to the distributor and final customer.

  • Data source

A data source is, as the name suggests, the place from which the data used originates.

A source can be a file, a particular database or even a live data stream. Finally, it can be the place where the data was created, or where the physical information was digitized.

T

  • Dashboard

Type of data representation (tables, crosstabs, graphs) containing various analysis functions (calculation formulas, conditional formatting, etc.).

V

  • Data visualization

A method for representing data in a visual or pictorial context with the aim of making data accessible to users unfamiliar with Business Intelligence.

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