Business Intelligence was born from data warehousing, as pointed out by analyst Mike Ferguson in an interview for a Computer Weekly article celebrating the publication’s fiftieth anniversary. Ferguson emphasized that before data warehousing, reporting was limited to green and white printed sheets generated by transactional database systems. This triad of data warehousing, ETL, and business intelligence software in the 1990s and 2000s revolutionized data analytics.
Looking ahead to the sixtieth anniversary of Computer Weekly, a new generation of Business Intelligence is emerging, driven by Generative AI. Databricks recently introduced AI/BI, a solution designed to democratize analytics and insights for all levels of an organization. The system features dashboards and a conversational interface powered by AI to enable users to ask ad-hoc questions in natural language.
Databricks’ shift towards AI/BI reflects a broader industry trend of combining artificial intelligence with Business Intelligence tools. This integration aims to provide users with more sophisticated analytics capabilities tailored to their specific context and goals. As organizations seek to democratize analytics and decision-making, the fusion of AI and BI is becoming increasingly essential.
The convergence of AI and BI is a key focus for many players in the industry, including Databricks, Salesforce’s Tableau, and Thoughtspot. This trend reflects a broader movement towards democratizing analytics and ensuring timely, accurate insight based on real-time data. As organizations continue to embrace AI-driven BI solutions, the effectiveness and uptake of these tools among a wider user base will become clearer over time.