Business Intelligence is the process of obtaining and converting data into information that once delivered becomes the knowledge needed to make more informed and timely decisions.

It is about getting the information you need in the right format to the right people at the right time. It’s a collection of applications and technologies designed to gather, store, analyze and deliver data. And it empowers every employee – from senior executives, to analysts, to business unit managers, to forefront staff – by providing them with key information so they can work better, faster and smarter.

Business Intelligence with Office SharePoint Server 2007 provides an infrastructure that makes it easy for decision-makers to access information anytime, anywhere. People can retrieve the latest information where they work, act as a team, and make decisions, whether it's on the desktop or over the Web.

Excel Services, part of Office SharePoint Server 2007, extend the capabilities of Microsoft Office Excel 2007 by allowing broad sharing of spreadsheets, improved manageability and security and the ability to re-use spreadsheet models using a scalable server-based calculation service and interactive Web-based user interface.

Create interactive business intelligence (BI) dashboards that assemble and display business information from disparate sources by using built in Web Parts. These Web Parts include dynamic key performance indicators (KPI), Office Excel 2007 spreadsheets, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services reports and a collection of business data connectivity Web Parts that can visualize information residing in back-end line-of-business applications.

Use the Business Data Catalog (BDC) to effortlessly connect external data into your applications allowing you to create a foundation for business intelligence search. As part of Office SharePoint Server 2007, the BDC simplifies the process of discovering and accessing data residing within backend line of business applications.