Business Intelligence (BI) tools are software applications that collect, process, analyze, and report data for business intelligence purposes. They help users understand trends and derive insights from data to make better decisions based on predictions, market trends, and key performance indicators (KPIs) . BI tools can perform functions such as data mining, data visualization, performance management, analytics, reporting, text mining, predictive analytics, and much more. They can also help reduce business costs and increase revenue.

BI tools are available from dozens of vendors overall, including major IT vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, SAS, and Salesforce, as well as other notable BI vendors such as Alteryx, Domo, GoodData, Infor Birst, Information Builders, Logi Analytics, MicroStrategy, Pyramid Analytics, Sisense, ThoughtSpot, and Yellowfin. There are also open-source BI tools such as Apache Hive, BIRT Project, D3.js, JasperReports, KNIME, Orange, Pentaho, TACTIC, and Superset.

Some common types of BI tools include dashboards, visualizations, reporting, data mining, ETL, and OLAP. BI platforms traditionally rely on data warehouses for their baseline information, but more recent development has focused on self-service BI applications, allowing non-expert users to benefit from their own reporting and analysis. Modern cloud-based platforms have also extended the reach of BI across geographies, and many solutions now handle big data and include real-time processing, enabling decision-making processes based on up-to-date information.

Overall, BI tools are essential for businesses to aggregate business information from anywhere, analyze it, discover patterns, and find solutions.