AMR Research estimated that in 2006 alone, business intelligence (BI) spending would reach $6.35 billion, with a growth rate of 10%. In 2007, that number is likely to be even higher. As business and IT executives plan for next year and beyond, BI and data warehousing remain top priorities for accurate, right-time decision making across the enterprise. Teradata Magazine sought the insights of 10 experts to identify five key trends picking up momentum in BI/data warehousing—and how companies can use them to their advantage. The trends include:

	Operational BI
	Infrastructure standardization
	Strategic approach to information
	Master data management (MDM)
	Consulting on BI and data warehousing

With the everyday challenges of the executive continuously mounting—regulatory and legislative compliance, risk management and increasing return on investment (ROI), to name a few—having greater access to quality data is a requirement in meeting these issues head on. But it’s not just data; it’s how well it’s used. By paying attention to rising trends, management teams can make decisions and manage the enterprise based on facts. They can work together with IT to shape a company’s agenda by using the organization’s data infrastructure and analytics to reduce the uncertainty involved in managing a large enterprise. Moreover, they’re enabled to make useful, relevant operational decisions. The results of taking action with these movements in BI and data warehousing in mind will take your enterprise full speed ahead. T

Special Focus Illustrations by Peter Bollinger.

Teradata Magazine-December 2006