Business intelligence (BI) has been around for many more years than you might think.
Decision support systems (DSS) and executive information systems (EIS) from the 1970s and
1980s, along with artificial intelligence (AI) systems from the 1990s, can now all be considered
as part of what BI comprises today.
In brief, BI refers to the aggregation of all relevant business information, put together
such that correlations and metrics may be monitored and analyzed, and the making of
decisions based on trends and the results of the analyzed information.
In the early 2000s, when economic conditions became rough, companies began focusing
on their businesses more closely. This produced the essential need for BI solutions. Many
organizations began building data warehouses using SQL Server 2000 and Analysis
Services 2000. Microsoft recognized this need and approached the development of their
SQL Server 2005 product with BI in mind.
The release of SQL Server 2005 brought BI to the forefront of Microsoft solutions.
Although this took care of the data and reporting components, it did not address the core
monitoring and planning aspects of a BI solution. To fill this gap, Microsoft began developing
Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 (PPS) in conjunction with the acquisition of
ProClarity. At the same time, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) was
being promoted as the main delivery mechanism for BI solutions using Microsoft technologies,
and was at this point being referred to as the Microsoft BI stack. The Microsoft
BI stack fulfilled the business needs, but the solution was made up of various separate
components. Enter Office 2010.
With the releases of SharePoint Server 2010 and SQL Server 2008 R2, the convergence of
the BI stack is more evident. Once-separated components (MOSS and PPS) are now
combined within the same architecture, and tighter integration now exists between
SharePoint and Reporting Services and Analysis Services.
The Office 2010 platform forces technological change within skillsets and roles. The BI
specialists who may be considered SQL Server experts now need to understand SharePoint
and its role within a BI solution. Conversely, SharePoint experts and developers need to
be able to use SharePoint as a delivery mechanism for BI solutions.
Previously, if you needed to understand BI solutions using SQL Server, you referred to a
SQL Server or data warehousing publication. If you needed to understand SharePoint, you
referred to SharePoint-related material. With the tighter integration of the Microsoft BI
Stack, we believe there is a need to combine the components of BI and SharePoint into
one reference book for this integration. This book bridges the gap between the two worlds
of database technology and portal solutions.
