Information Week’s article titled “Next-Generation Business Intelligence” (you can download the pdf by clicking on the link here), highlights the new breed of Business Intelligence (BI) tools). The article correctly notes that the next generation of BI technology is still evolving and comes with plenty of risk. Prediction typically requires statistical expertise that’s scarce and pricey. Real-time monitoring of stream processing technology can be a lifesaver, but only if end users can respond as quickly as they detect opportunity or risk. Fast in-memory-analysis tools are selling briskly, but they may require companies to pony up for higher-performance 64-bit hardware.
“Real Time” data as marketed by BI vendors seldom mean subsecond or even subminute response. But there is increased latency from previous generation of BI tools. Low-latency BI, faster business activity monitoring, and ultra-low-latency complex event processing are all examples of stream processing technologies. They typically include instant alerts so people can react when a particular threshold, event, or pattern is seen. But at these speeds—anywhere from a few seconds for low-latency BI to milliseconds for complex even processing—most companies also need to couple low-latency insight with automated response. With software-as-a-service options, BI doesn’t always require the months-long distraction of building a data warehouse or a new data mart application, something particularly attractive for small IT shops.
See the survey result below which puts fast data exploration and ease of implementation as the top two priorities.
