Business intelligence is a hot topic in 2010, especially with the upcoming release of Microsoft's SQL Server 2008 R2 being dubbed as the "BI release." In this e-zine, one SQL Server expert breaks down exactly what goes into self-service BI, where it works and where it falls short. 

Read about IBM Cognos® Express is the first and only integrated business intelligence (BI) and planning solution purpose-built to meet the needs of midsize companies, delivering essential reporting, analysis, dashboard, scorecard, planning, budgeting & forecasting in one affordable solution. 

BI is no longer just for large enterprises with bigger budgets. In this video, learn how the BI market has evolved to offer more affordable options to SMBs. 

Decision-making is buoyed by strong business intelligence (BI). For small to midsize businesses (SMBs), formulating an approach to BI can be a challenge. Incremental steps are pivotal for SMBs, according to this paper featuring insight from Gartner. Read this and learn why starting with the basic before evolving deeper is the proven path. 

In the third issue of BI Trends and Strategies, learn from BeyeNETWORK experts William McKnight and David Loshin how to create a time-proof information management infrastructure, as well as five steps you can take to improve the quality of analytical data. Also learn about connectors for moving data between relational databases and Hadoop clusters. 

Read this expert paper now as business intelligence (BI) visionary Wayne Eckerson evaluates the role of collaboration in a BI environment and offers up results from a survey of BI professionals about their growing interest in and adoption of collaborative capabilities. 

This edition of BI Trends & Strategies features a lead article by SearchCIO.com's Linda Tucci, who offers a helping hand in the quest to dismantle the dreaded data silo. The second piece outlines mobile BI, including a reference to Apple's iPad, and the final article delves into the world of performance management. 

There may be a lot of recent innovations to data technologies but the best approach is to determine whether you can utilize these new tools for your current BI, analytics and data management strategies. This issue of BI Trends + Strategies features advice from industry experts including, Claudia Imhoff, Colin White, and Lyndsay Wise. 

Watch this video session with BI expert Wayne Eckerson to learn the best practices aligning BI with your organization's business activities. 

Join moderator Gary Beach, publisher of CIO Magazine, and Michael Corcoran, Information Builders CCO, for an informative panel discussion on operational business intelligence (BI) and the keys to a successful deployment. They'll speak with technology experts from Pershing LLC and Holland America Lines about their BI projects. 

This webcast discusses data virtualization and how it can lead to more flexible, agile BI. 

Senior managers who have balked at the cost and complexity of adopting technology such as business intelligence (BI) and performance management (PM) should consider IBM Cognos Express as a way to adopt these technologies while minimizing time to benefit, deployment costs, and support costs. 

Planning, budgeting and forecasting always will be crucial components to your organization. But choosing the right performance management software can be a tough task. This paper from IBM outlines the business challenges and drivers, as well as organizational and technological best practices to follow, and includes a software selection matrix.