Apress - Pro Performance Point Server 2007

Introduction

“Business intelligence” is a nebulous, scary term that is often brandished as something that you need an MBA and 20 years of experience in the field to implement. As I’ve dug my way around the field in the three short years since Business Scorecard Manager was released, what I’ve found is that the technology does not have to be that hard. I’m not saying it’s always easy, but it’s definitely approachable and accessible to the average developer or DBA. The issue with business intelligence is that the business problem is hard. There are issues of metrics, what to measure, how to measure it, where to get the data, how to get the data securely, how to apply the data, how to analyze the data, how to get value out of the analysis, and so on. The important things—and I try to reiterate these throughout the book—are focusing our attention on the business problems and trying to make the technology as unobtrusive as possible.

That is what Microsoft is doing with PerformancePoint. By commoditizing what was previously a premium software field, they are trying to make business intelligence available to the masses, so we can think in terms of “How do I measure performance” instead of “How can I afford business intelligence software and consultants?”