Real-time intelligence = faster decision-making

Making sure decision-makers have access to timely, accurate and relevant data on demand is big factor in effectively managing day-to-day business activities that impact operational efficiency. But achieving real-time business intelligence isn't easy, due in part to the current crop of business intelligence tools and infrastructures. Many organizations today have data warehouses that store a version of their transactional information. These data warehouses are updated with periodic snapshots of operational data that are 'cleaned' before being loaded into the warehouse. This process can take from a few hours to several days to complete, leading to potentially outdated data with limited usefulness. The solution is either to upgrade to a newer version of your data warehouse--many vendors are building time-sensitive data warehouse features into their database projects--or to invest in more expensive real-time business intelligence. Business Objects and Informatica are two vendors offering or adapting products for real-time data integration. Other vendors offering products that help with the real-time nature of data include Datamirror, GoldenGate Software, QlikTech, Information Builder, Cognos, Advizor, Spotfire, Tableau and SeeWhy.

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