Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) is the set of process by which data is extracted from numerous databases, applications and systems, transformed as appropriate, and loaded into target systems like a data warehouse.

More than half of all development work for data warehousing projects is typically dedicated to the design and implementation of ETL processes. Poorly designed ETL processes are costly to maintain, change, and update, so it is critical to identify the right technology and tools that will be used for developing and maintaining the ETL processes upfront.

The key to successful marketing is relevance, timeliness, and value. The first two, relevance and timeliness, are hardcoded into Marketing Automation (MA) Triggers. Value is up to the organization to align offers to its recipients. Marketing Automation Triggers give an organization the timeliness it needs by having the system send out targeted emails to customers in advance of their contract renewal date and it does not rely on human interaction to send out those emails.

Data warehouses are often at the heart of the strategic reporting systems used to help manage and control the business. The function of the data warehouse is to consolidate and reconcile information from across disparate business units and IT systems and provide a context for reporting on and analyzing:

• Corporate performance management
• Profitability
• Consolidated financials
• Compliance

The User Interface (UI) of a Business Intelligence (BI) system must be accepted and utilized by the users for the BI system to add value to the organization. To increase user acceptance of the BI system it’s crucial to involve key stakeholders from all levels of the organization. Along with a strong user interface, the Business Intelligence system needs to have the ability to create ad hoc reports without having to involve a developer for a stakeholder to run the necessary reports.

Custom Reports are a critical part of a good business intelligence solution. While key performance metrics provide a good, high-level view of a company's health, it's the ability to dive deeper that identifies and solves issues. Custom reports that give analysts a layered look at the business - segmented and re-segmented - are how an organization's people, processes, and technology are optimized.

The benefits of harvesting various iterations of a company's data spans the enterprise - from marketing and sales to operations and finance. All require reporting capabilities that software manufacturers couldn't possibly anticipate.

The best BI solutions offer an easy-to-use interface for creating, charting, and exporting data not found in the standard list of reports. Less sophisticated offerings and many internally-built frameworks require a direct connection to the database and the ability to pull the data required via an API or SQL query.

Big data is a broad term for data sets so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. Business Intelligence is the tool that bridges the gap of taking Big Data and turning it into actionable pieces of information.