One significant change in the way that businesses run today compared to 50 years ago is the use of data. In today's business world data is used to help managers make decisions in just about every category. Without this data it would be very difficult to make quick and accurate business decisions. To add in the collection of this data of this data organizations use Business Intelligent software (BI). Business Intelligent software is a type of software that collects raw data and allows the user to manipulate the information to answer business questions. One of the most common forms of BI is Microsoft's Excel.
To determine the patterns about consumers who call the 1-800 phone bank with questions or problems I would suggest loading the critical information into Microsoft's Excel, Oracle's BI server or SAS Enterprise server. I would recommend using Microsoft Excel due to the fact that the operation of the software is very user friendly. The user does not have to be an expert and the data is easy to manipulate. Oracle's BI is a good choice because the software can be aligned with other programs to include Microsoft's office, SAP and SAS. Oracle's BI is a platform that can be expanded for more power for gathering and manipulating data. Finally SAS Enterprise BI server combines SAS Analytics with data integration. The software integrates with many programs and offers web-based report viewing.
The data that is collected from the BI software is either Continuous or discrete. Continuous data will have an infinite number of possible values, while discrete data can only have a certain range of values. The data collected for the 1-800 phone bank will discrete as there is a limited number of options available in the snack food categories.
BI is a critical solution to many business questions. There are several BI options on the market today. They are very similar in functions and options. The key to getting good data is the types of questions that business team search and how the data is manipulated.