Know The Difference Between Business Intelligence And Erp

By Author: Bappaditta Jana
Total Articles: 89
Comment this article

Business intelligence has become the buzzword, and ERP is something that every business employs to manage their day-to-day activities. So, both are quite different, but many start-ups and small businesses easily get confused and end up thinking that both are more or less the same.

So, it is best to learn the differences between the two software to get the right solution. While business intelligence or BI is a set of technologies or processes to convert raw data into valuable information, ERP is an enterprise resource planning software that manages operations, reporting, supply chain, financials, and much more.

Therefore, let’s end the confusion and discuss the differences between business intelligence and ERP.

Strategic vs. Operational insights

BI tools are generally used by analysts for making strategic business decisions. As we know a business intelligence tool can access all data of your data warehouse, including strategic data such as financial, revenue, profit and operational data such as daily sales performance. It enables organizations to conduct in-depth analysis to have ...
... strategic insights. However, ERP offers operational insights. In short, it gives an exact view of the business from an operational perspective.

OLAP vs. OLTP

The technology behind most of the business intelligence applications is OLAP i.e. Online Analytical Processing. It is this technology that is responsible for providing robust analytical capabilities like high-speed access to business reports, management of dashboards and much more! It successfully creates a single platform to meet all the analysis needs of a business. ERP however is backed by the Online Transaction Processing system. This OLTP helps in recording transactions whenever they take place and administers the day-to-day transactions within an organization.

The differences between the two are fundamental, and it is high time that businesses should think about their integration to make the most of these two. This is especially true for small and medium-sized businesses that remain undecided about the technology that will prove more beneficial for their organizations. While business intelligence and ERP are different from each other, combining them would be a more comprehensive approach or managing a business. Although both of these two have different objectives, integration of BI with ERP will result in better inter-departmental communication, business efficiency, cost-saving, and timely decisions.

Moreover, there are now plenty of business intelligence tools that can be seamlessly integrated with a large number of third-party applications. So, while it is good to understand the difference between BI and ERP to have better clarity about the benefits that they both bring to a business, it is also vital to have both enjoy dynamic reporting, strategic planning, agility, and so on. For those who still find it difficult to decide whether to opt for a BI or ERP, some BI tools also come with a no-obligation free-trial facility so that they can check about their usefulness for their organization.

Bappaditta Jana is a blogger who loves to spend his free time engaging in sports or gardening. Based in Kolkata, he is currently working with EasyReports an IT firm that has developed a BI reporting tool that can easily integrate with Tally ERP and many other applications.