Business intelligence (BI) involves the use of software and tools to analyze organizational data, aiming to enhance decision-making, collaboration, and performance. Originating from the 19th century, BI has evolved from decision support systems in the mid-20th century to a standalone discipline today, with influential contributions from figures like Howard Dresner. Various industries, including media, government, retail, and sports, leverage BI to monitor operations, optimize processes, and drive strategic decisions. BI analysis addresses questions concerning past, present, and future business conditions using historical and real-time data stored in data warehouses or clouds like AWS and Google Cloud. Key activities within BI include analytics, collaboration, knowledge management, measurement, and reporting, executed through a diverse range of applications. Implementing BI systems involves identifying executive decision needs, ensuring data quality, and deploying systems with continuous feedback. The BI landscape comprises numerous enterprise and mid-sized software providers and increasingly offers self-service options for direct executive use. The future of BI points towards embedded analytics, where pre-created dashboards and visualizations become integral to everyday work, possibly reducing the need for individual BI tools.