Microsoft Business Intelligence Technologies
Microsoft provides a comprehensive Business Intelligence (BI) offering that is based on a scalable data platform for data warehousing, analysis, and reporting, and offers powerful and intuitive tools that end users can use to access and analyze business information. At the core of the Microsoft BI end-to-offering is Microsoft SQL Server 2008, a complete data services platform that enables you to:
- Unify storage and access for all data across the enterprise.
- Build and manage sophisticated BI solutions.
- Increase the reach of your business intelligence solution to empower all employees.
The specific technologies of SQL Server 2008 that form the basis of this powerful BI offering are described in the following table:
|
Component |
Description |
|
SQL Server Database Engine |
Provides a scalable, high-performance data storage engine for extremely large volumes of data. This makes it an ideal choice for consolidating business data from across the enterprise into a central data warehouse for analysis and reporting. |
|
SQL Server Integration Services |
Is a comprehensive platform for extract, transform, and load (ETL) operations, which enables the population and synchronization of your data warehouse with data from the disparate data sources that are used by your business applications throughout the organization. |
|
SQL Server Analysis Services |
Provides an analytical engine for Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) solutions, including business measure aggregation over multiple dimensions and key performance indicators (KPIs), and for data mining solutions that use specialized algorithms to identify patterns, trends, and associations in business data. |
|
SQL Server Reporting Services
|
Is an extensive reporting solution that makes it easy to create, publish, and distribute detailed business reports both within the enterprise and outside the enterprise.
|
While SQL Server 2008 delivers a comprehensive BI platform, it is through deep integration with productivity tools, such as the 2007 Microsoft Office System, that you can empower employees throughout the enterprise to use this platform and turn business insight into effective actions.