Open Source Business Intelligence

by Brian J. Dooley

Open source business intelligence has moved into the limelight with the recent release of software with improved functionality. Key features like standardization, simplicity, and cost are particularly attractive to smaller organizations and also helping to bring BI to areas where it might not have been considered previously. There is great promise in open source BI, but it needs to be considered carefully, as it is neither as free nor as simple as it might initially appear.