25 Top Business Intelligence Tools (Best BI Tools in 2023)

With the high emergence of technology into the business, it delivers relevant and useful business information as a result and ultimately improves business performance.

Business Intelligence tools (BI Tools) are useful to identify customer behavior, improve the visibility and efficiency of a business. It helps to collect data from the dynamic business environment and make effective decisions.

In this article, we will discuss BI and its significant effects and some BI tools to implement it effectively.

Recommended Read => The 4 Steps to Business Intelligence (BI) Testing

What is Business Intelligence?

• BI is a software collection used to support the decision-making process by analysts and managers.
• Business Intelligence can be defined as analyzing and processing a large amount of data and then converting it into knowledge-based information to support some profitable business decisions.
• BI Environment comprises business models, data models, and ETL tools to organize and transform the data into useful information.
• BI uses some terms like:
  • Big Data is a collection of large and complex data sets that contains structured and unstructured data which may be difficult to process and analyze using traditional database management tools.
  • Data Warehouse is a subject-oriented and integrated system for reporting and analyzing the data to support a decision-making process.
  • Data Mining is a process of applying some statistical techniques on a large amount of raw data and turns it into useful information with new patterns and relationships among large relational databases.

The diagrammatic representation of BI implementation process is given below which will help to understand Business Intelligence more easily.

Impact of Business Intelligence

BI has been proven useful for business organizations in the following ways;

• Get a quick solution for critical business complexities.
• Align business activities according to corporate strategies and tactics.
• Employee Empowerment
• Reduction in data manipulation time.
• Get insights into customers
• Recognize critical areas for cost estimation.
• Enhance business productivity

Challenges with BI Implementation

Though several organizations implementing BI actively and proven it useful for their business, there are some challenges to implementing it.

Some of them are listed below:

• There is a huge amount of data that is gathered every day but not possible to process all at a given time.
• Lack of strategy.
• User adoption that is driving users or groups of users using different ways doesn’t want to change it unless the method they are using becomes time-consuming and inefficient.
• Justifying investments that are estimating the cost of discovering new methods on the business process.
• Change in management.
• Managing non-transactional data.
• Enterprise data governance.
• Connection gap between IT and business users.
• Access to information for a wide range of users.
• Security and Customization Integration.

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Business Intelligence Tools are some application software that is used to read and process data which is previously stored, generally in the data warehouse. These tools are helpful to retrieve, analyze and transform data, creating manageable dashboards and finally generate a report for BI.

Let us have a look at some popular Business Intelligence tools.

Enterprise Business Intelligence Platforms

• Oracle NetSuite is a Business Management software. It has solutions for small to large size businesses.
• For small businesses, it offers easy to use, scalable, and agile business solution that contains the functionalities of ERP, CRM, E-commerce, and PSA.
• It helps medium-sized businesses by cutting their IT costs in half, reduce financial close times 20% to 50%, and improves quote to cash cycle times by 50%.
• Oracle NetSuite has functionalities to help global enterprises with their complex functional, industry, regulatory, and tax requirements.

• HubSpot is Inbound Marketing, Sales, and Service software.
• Its CRM software is completely free and will help you to organize, track, and build better relationships with leads and customers.
• It offers flexible and powerful content management software that will be helpful to marketers and developers
• Its Sales software will give deeper insights into prospects and will allow you to automate tasks.
• Marketing Software will help you run complete inbound marketing campaigns at scale.

Zoho Analytics is a self-service BI and analytics platform. It allows users to create insightful dashboards and visually analyze any data. It features an AI-powered assistant that allows users to ask questions and get intelligent answers in the form of meaningful reports.

Features:

• 100+ readymade connectors for popular business apps, cloud drives, and databases.
• Unified business analytics that analyzes data from across business apps.
• Augmented analytics using an AI and ML-powered intelligent assistant that can understand queries asked in natural language.
• White label solutions for embedded analytics and BI/analytics portals.
• Available in both on-premise and on-cloud versions. Can be deployed on AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

Best Features: Intelligent assistant, unified business analytics, white-label / embedded BI, 100+ connectors with pre-built reports and dashboards.

Price: Free Plan. Basic ($22/month), Standard ($45), Premium ($112), and Enterprise ($445).

Verdict: The tool provides smart data alerts and forecasting. It makes use of AI, ML and NLP technologies.

• Integrate.io is a data integration platform. It is a cloud-based solution that will bring all your data sources together.
• Integrate.io provides a solution for marketing that has functionality for data enrichment. Your data enrichment tools will get integrated by Integrate.io.
• It will help you to keep your marketing automation up-to-date. Your customer information will always be complete with Integrate.io.
• Integrate.io will make your marketing campaigns effective.
• It provides omnichannel marketing and data-driven insights.
• It will help you with building a complete Sales Analytics solution.
• With a sales solution, it provides the features of data enrichment, effective analytics, a centralized database, etc.
• Integrate.io has a solution for customer support analytics that provides comprehensive insights, data enrichment, customized support solutions, etc.

• Automate marketing efforts across multiple communication channels like SMS, social media, email, etc.
• Manage multiple marketplace stores and information pertaining to inventory, orders, and customers from a single control panel.
• Gather data about customers from across multiple stores to build and nurture strong business relationships
• In-depth reporting and analysis on marketing, customer interactions, and online store performance.
• Integrated ticketing system and in-built CRM.

Query.me is a business intelligence tool that aims to bring SQL teams into the future with the help of powerful notebooks that are fully customizable delivering actual insights instead of messy dashboards.

With Query.me you’ll be able to have your entire BI team on the same page saving you countless hours creating and sending reports back and forth allowing them to comment, collaborate and share from one convenient location.

Features:

• Automated reporting
• Powerful SQL Notebooks
• Jinja support
• An ever-growing array of block types allow for more customization and analysis options.

Verdict: Query.me is a one-stop-shop for SQL teams looking to step up their game with a tool that brings together the entire team without having to rely on developers for help.

#7) SAS

• SAS is a proprietary tool well known for making available the right information to the right people at the right time.
• It provides a high-quality connection between various data sources and end-users.
• It helps to protect business data with security issue identification and resolution.
• Supports centralized metadata, governance, and scalability, data visualization.
• It provides real-time analysis and allows users to perform self-service reporting.

Official Link: SAS

#8) Birst

• Birst is a free proprietary SAAS BI platform comprising data discovery, analysis, and reporting
• Simple to use platform that automates data warehouse and integrates data from many systems
• Point-and-click analytics feature and report generation
• Better performance than traditional BI frameworks for faster decision-making
• Hadoop data architecture provides fast and high-concurrency analytics

Official Link: Birst

#9) WebFOCUS

• WebFOCUS is a proprietary commercial tool that provides the right information to the right user
• WebFOCUS provides robust solutions that are easy to manage and compile
• Deliver data to the company, clients, and managers via featured and user-friendly InfoApps
• Advance data integration and point-to-click analytics
• Also includes some popular applications like InfoDiscovery, RSat, and ReportCaster

Official Link: WebFOCUS

#10) BusinessObject

• SAP BusinessObject is a proprietary Business Intelligence platform used to share BI information throughout the organization
• Helps to improve business user autonomy by exposing and allowing access to business data to a wide range of users
• Makes information consumption easy and to speed up the decision-making process
• Supports faster deployment and optimization of IT resources and closer integration with IT infrastructure
• Reduces workload and increases responsiveness

Official Link: BusinessObject

#11) IBM Cognos

• IBM Cognos web-based proprietary integrated BI suite developed by IBM
• Helps to get into insights effectively and provides a toolset for reporting, analyzing data
• Can create own dashboard and access information from anywhere
• Provides cloud support and complete governance of data, easily generate online and offline reports
• IBM Cognos BI suite also available as a mobile app that allows the user to access information through mobile devices

Official Link: IBM Cognos

#12) MicroStrategy

• MicroStrategy is a free proprietary tool which provides data-driven for every business question promptly
• Supports data mining and visualization for web-based deployment
• Comprises features and functionalities of multiple applications and transforms information into reports
• Enhances cost-efficiency and productivity of business also Facilitate cloud support via Amazon Web Services
• The desktop version of this tool is free but enterprise version is priced for cloud-based deployment

Official Link: MicroStrategy

#13) Pentaho

• Pentaho is an open-source commercial tool that mainly focuses on making accurate and data-driven business decisions
• This tools also supports cloud and provides interactive analytics
• Comes with rich navigation feature and data visualization
• The platform comprises big data integration, data mining, and predictive data analytics
• Pentaho allows the user to collect and manage data from multiple dynamic sources and helps to turn big data into insights

Official Link: Pentaho

Database Integrated Products

#14) Microsoft BI and Power BI

• Microsoft BI is a proprietary platform provides Integration Services and uses some applications o work with analytical data
• This platform is well known for Analysis Services and Reporting Services and Master Data Services
• Some of the BI features are available only in SharePoint that includes PowerPivot and Power View
• Reporting Services provides interactive reports that run on PowerPivot
• Power BI is a free open source business intelligence platform used to transform collected data into an organized visual format for better understanding
• This platform is based on 3 pillar components such as Dataset to bring all data at a place, Dashboard that is created to represent visual data analytics and Report that contains several pages of visualization with organized data analytics in the form of charts and graphs

Official Link: Power BI

#15) Oracle BI (OBIEE+ and Endeca)

• OBIEE an open proprietary Business Intelligence tool that delivers Reporting, Adhoc Query Analysis, Online Analytical Processing, etc.
• All the business analytics, definitions, and calculations are framed in a Common Enterprise Information Model
• User can access the information in multiple ways along with collaborative workplace and through applications
• Well known for providing users in-depth and accurate insights
• Oracle Endeca Information Discovery is served as a complete solution for agile data discovery
• It helps to manage the balance of business with IT collaboration
• Provides rapid access to traditional data analytics and non-traditional data
• Maintains current enterprise investments, reduces time consumption and helps to make accurate business decisions

Official Link: OracleBI

#16) SAP BW + HANA

• SAP Business Warehouse(BW) is a proprietary platform that serves data warehouse to organize and manage data and provides an effective business report
• SAP HANA was formerly known as SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance
• SAP HANA developed by SAP SE is an In-Memory computing platform which is ultimately popular for transforming relational databases
• Implementing SAP BW on HANA can be used for beneficial results such as improved performance, Administration, and lower cost estimation

Official Link: SAP BW on HANA

#17) Oracle Hyperion

• Oracle Hyperion (Web Analysis) is an effective BI suite that serves with interactive web-based analytics
• Hyperion Web Analytics includes several applications such as Hyperion performance Management Application, Hyperion Essbase, Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services, SAP Business Information Warehouse, etc.
• This software delivers visualization of data in the form of grids, charts, pinboards, personalization with full control over formatting and generates reports online or via HTML web pages, PDF, etc.
• Also comes with features like user management, administration and provides access to information at a single point

Official Link: Oracle Hyperion

Data Discovery And Visualization

#18) Qlik and QlikSense

• Qlik is a high-performance proprietary analytics platform that represents how the data should get related
• Comes with self-service Visualization, Guided and Embedded analytics
• Uses in-memory indexing for maintaining data relationship and serves multiple products like Qlik Sense
• Qlik Sense is a free proprietary platform used for interactive visualization and effective decisions
• This platform comes with 3 main versions such as Qlik Sense Desktop is a free Windows application to create personalized visualizations and reports, Qlik Sense Enterprise for organizational purpose and Qlik Sense Cloud is a cloud-based app

Official Link: Qlik Sense

#19) Tableau

• Tableau is a free proprietary easy to use BI system
• Supports Data Exploration and Data Visualization with in-memory architecture
• User can access data from multiple sources and also can add their own data
• Integrates with Microsoft SharePoint and supports mobile BI strategy
• The most important feature of Tableau is One-click rapid reporting

Official Link: Tableau

#20) Board

• Board All-In-One BI tool combines BI, Corporate Performance Management, and Business analytics
• The proprietary platform includes reporting by accessing multiple data sources
• Possesses features like data visualization, drill-down, and drill-through functionality
• Ad-hoc querying and multi-dimensional analysis help to make strong business decisions

Official Link: Board

#21) Sisense

• Sisense is end-to-end proprietary BI tool specially designed for those users who are not much used to BI
• This solution comes with mobile and web-based deployment and Benchmarking
• Sisense uses ElastiCube as their analytics database that is built on In-Chip technology and also supports cloud platform
• Ad hoc Analysis, Ad hoc Queries, and Ad-hoc Reports, Data Visualization are leading features of Sisense
• Key Performance Indicators, Profitability Analysis, Strategic Planning are some extra features of it

Official Link: Sisense

#22) Adaptive Discovery

• Adaptive Discovery is a commercial cloud-based visual analytics platform
• This platform integrates data sources and facilitates visualized data analytics on dashboard
• The adaptive discovery comes with web-based deployment and Key Performance Indicators that helps to enhance business performance
• Makes possible to analyze multi-dimensional data with drill-down capability and In-Memory Architecture
• Key features like Ad hoc Analysis, Ad hoc Queries, Ad hoc Reports, Data Visualization, Profitability Analysis, and Strategic Planning, etc.
• Helps in Budgeting and Forecasting for business

Official Link: Adaptive Discovery

Niche And Innovative

#23) Yellowfin BI

• Yellowfin BI is a proprietary BI tool available with Dashboards, data Discovery, Data Visualization, and Collaborative BI
• Mapping, Mobile BI like features allows the user to access and monitor business-related data from anywhere
• Insights can be prepared via simple scripts that can be uploaded and embedded to share with collaborators
• Users insights can be made effective through data-rich presentations and interactive reports
• Yellowfin is known as an Agile and Responsive reporting solution that supports the business decision-making process

Official Link: Yellowfin BI

#24) Style Intelligence

• Style Intelligence is a free open source Business Intelligence platform designed by InetSoft
• It is an agile, robust and self-service development tool that has a data mashup engine at its base
• Comprises Data Block Architecture to support real-time data mashup
• Provides Cloud support, granular security, multi-tenancy support
• Helps Data Exploration and connects relational and multidimensional databases

Official Link: Style Intelligence

#25) Bizzscore

• Bizzscore is a commercial online, on-premise platform that supports performance improvement
• It allows creating instant graphical reports and analytics that can be exported to Excel or Powerpoint
• Possesses reporting features like Dashboard, Performance Measurement along with the drill-down capability
• Bizzscore suite mainly serves 4 major tools such as Bizzscore for analyzing data and preparing management dashboards, Bizzdata for to integrate data sources, Bizzquality to input derived data and find out the solution to create scalable insights and Bizzdefiner for performance management

Official Link: Bizzscore

#26) Jaspersoft

• Jaspersoft is an open-source commercial Business Intelligence solution that offers interactive analysis for its end users
• Jaspersoft is a lightweight platform that provides reporting, OLAP, data visualization, data integration
• It can be integrated into any mobile app and devices so that users can access data from anywhere
• Provides support for the decision-making process through Key performance indicators and Trend/problem Indicators
• Available as SaaS, On-premise and cloud platform

Official Link: Jaspersoft

Additional Business Intelligence Software

These are some most popular Business Intelligence platforms used by several business giants worldwide. The list doesn’t get over here as there are still many more such Business Intelligence reporting tools.

Let’s review them at a glance.

#27) Looker: Looker is a proprietary data discovery platform to perform real-time data access and make effective business decisions. Looker is also available in the cloud and on-premises platform.

#28) Targit BI: Targit BI Suite is a proprietary powerful and user-friendly decision-making platform that comes with mobility and single-solution integration. Serves self-service package of dashboards and provides easy insight report generation.

#29) MITS Distributors Analytics: This Business Intelligence tool helps non-technical users to make better business decisions using their ERP knowledge. It is a comprehensive BI tool that improves the performance of the business and all insight reports can be summarized.

#30) Domo: Domo is a proprietary cloud-based and On-premise BI platform that provides micro and macro-level analysis to forecast revenue. Supports interactive data visualization and instant access to company data.

#31) Artus: Artus is a BI platform from Bitam. Artus monitors key performance metrics and comes with SaaS and On-premise deployment. The combination of management dashboards and ad-hoc analysis is the best feature of Artus.

Conclusion

Business Intelligence is the term itself elaborates meaning that improving business performance skillfully, intelligently. This key purpose is being hardly achieved through the manual process as Business itself is a vast concept.

The use of advanced business intelligence reporting tools makes this task easy and manageable. Business Intelligence platforms are subject to change according to the need for business and dynamically changing technology but for time being it has been proven the best way to achieve business targets.

We hope you found this list of the most popular business intelligence companies useful.

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