QuickBI’s BI dictionary helps when the business intelligence terminology used in the corporate world causes confusion. We’ve compiled words and abbreviations related to business analytics, information systems, and reporting.
We updated the dictionary for 2026 to also include the latest terms in modern cloud routing, AI analytics, and data warehousing.
A
Ad hoc query
A one-time, purpose-built “on demand” report created in a BI tool to answer a specific business question. Without a data warehouse, this type of query often requires a lot of manual data collection and access to multiple systems.
Aggregate data
Presenting data at a coarser granularity than the level at which it was collected. For example, data collected every second from IoT sensors is aggregated to the hourly level.
AI Analytics
A form of analytics that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to automate data processing, uncover hidden patterns, and produce predictive insights to support decision-making from large data sets — significantly faster than traditional methods.
Analysis
A detailed examination of data or information, performed by a person or a machine.
Analytics
The systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. Used to discover, interpret, and communicate meaningful patterns in data.
API = Application Programming Interface
A programming interface that enables multiple applications to communicate with each other, and to export and retrieve data from an application or system.
B
Balanced scorecard
A strategic performance management framework that tracks financial and non-financial KPIs across four perspectives: financial, customer, internal processes, and learning & growth. It helps organizations align day-to-day activities with long-term strategy.
Behavioral analytics
Using data to understand people’s intentions and patterns of behavior, and to predict future actions.
Big data
The collection, storage, sharing, and presentation of extremely large, unstructured, and continuously growing volumes of data using statistical and computing techniques. Data may include text, image, or audio data.
BI = Business Intelligence
Uses software and services to transform data into actionable intelligence, enabling effective analysis and reporting of information. Reports help company management make business decisions. A tool for data-driven decision-making.
Read more: What to consider when choosing a BI tool?
C
Cloud routing
The secure and efficient transfer and direction of data between different cloud services, on-premises systems, and data warehouses. Cloud routing is an important part of modern data management, ensuring real-time and reliable data availability for analytics.
Contextual data
Background information that provides perspective on a subject or event. It shows how different pieces of data relate to each other by placing them in a broader picture. This information can be used to analyze customer behavior.
Criteria
Principles, requirements, or rules on which assessments and selections are based.
CRM = Customer Relationship Management
Software used to manage a company’s customer relationships and related data and transactions. The goal is to clarify sales and other process flows, facilitate storage of customer relationship data, and help combine and analyze information. When referring to CRM, it usually means the tool used by sales and management.
CTE = Common Table Expression
Used to simplify queries by breaking complex queries into simple blocks that can be reused as needed. A CTE is a result set of a query that is not stored and therefore only exists temporarily during the query.
D
Dashboard
A view that allows you to monitor and visualize the state of various aspects of a business. May include tables, gauges, or graphical charts.
Read more: Report and KPI tracking ideas
Data
Potential information made up of characters and symbols — raw material for developing more meaningful information. Facts and collected values that, when analyzed, produce information. Also information in electronic form that can be stored and used by a computer.
Cf. Knowledge: Information obtained by analyzing data, refined into knowledge. Knowledge is “justified true belief.”
Data architecture
The way data is processed and stored, with the goal of showing an organization how data is acquired, transported, stored, retrieved, and protected. Data architecture is the foundation of any data strategy.
Database
A large amount of related information stored in a way that allows shared access to the data.
Data cleansing
A process in which incorrect or incomplete data is corrected or removed from a data store.
Data deduplication
The removal of duplicate data. In the process, duplicates are identified, removed, and linked together so that only one copy of the data is retained.
Data engineering
Helps make data more useful and accessible to data users. To do this, data must be acquired, transformed, and analyzed from each system used by the organization.
Data enrichment
A process in which collected data is supplemented or enhanced with relevant information gathered from other sources. For example, sales data can be enriched with location-related information.
Data exploration
The first stage of data analysis, in which users examine a large dataset to find interesting features and items.
Data fetching
The process of collecting, transferring, and loading data from one or more sources so that it can be analyzed immediately or stored in a database for later use.
Data lake
An architectural solution that leverages big data technologies. Allows fast storage of large data volumes and unstructured data.
Read more: Data lake vs Data warehouse
Data migration
A process in which data is selected, prepared, extracted, and transformed, then permanently moved from one storage system to another.
Data mining
The examination and analysis of detailed business transactions. Searching through large datasets to reveal patterns and relationships within a business.
Data model / data modeling
A method of describing data and the dependencies between them, with the goal of designing a structure for a database.
Data point
A single identifiable observation within a dataset.
Data preparation
The cleaning and transformation of raw data before processing and analysis. The process combines, structures, and organizes data so that it can be analyzed as part of data visualization, analytics, and machine learning applications.
Data strategy
A data strategy enables an organization to identify and manage its data as a structured, comprehensive, and cross-functional value-creating asset. It includes decisions about the type and volume of data the organization holds, how data is collected, where it is stored, how it is processed and used, who is responsible for it, and where future data investments will be made.
Data warehouse
A database into which data from various systems is extracted and loaded for reporting, analysis, and other use. A data warehouse consolidates data and makes it easily accessible to people.
Read more: Data lake vs Data warehouse
Read more: Facing a data warehouse project?
Data warehousing
The process of collecting, storing, and managing data, in which information from multiple different systems is integrated and loaded into a centralized data warehouse for analytics and business reporting. This enables the efficient combination of historical and real-time data within an organization.
Data wrangling
A process in which data is converted from a raw data file into another format, with the purpose of making it more appropriate and valuable for multiple purposes, such as analytics.
Drill-down
A term commonly used when referring to a report or dashboard from which a user can navigate from a visualization or table into more detailed data.
DSN = Data Source Name
A data structure that contains information about a specific database. The ODBC driver needs the DSN information to establish a connection to a database.
E
ELT = Extract, Load, Transform
A modern alternative to ETL. Using the processing power built into the data warehouse reduces data transportation time and is more cost-effective. This functionality is most useful for handling the large datasets required by business intelligence (BI) and big data analytics.
ETL = Extract, Transform, Load
The movement, transformation, and loading of data. Data is extracted (Extract), transformed (Transform), and loaded (Load) into a data warehouse. During the loading process, data is converted into the structure of the data warehouse and data from source systems is integrated.
Read more: Automating reporting with QuickBI data integrations
ERP = Enterprise Resource Planning
Business process management software that companies use for managing and coordinating areas such as accounting, procurement, projects, HR, and operational activities.
Export
Saving and transferring data in a format that can be used by other programs.
F
Filter
Filters allow data to be segmented into smaller subsets. A filter sets a condition according to which data is displayed (or excluded) in query results or a report view.
Forecasting
A prediction or estimate of future events — for example, forecasting future revenue.
Read more: More efficient financial reporting with automation
G
Gap analysis
The comparison of an organization’s actual, existing performance against its potential and desired performance.
Geospatial analysis
The collection, presentation, and processing of images, satellite photographs, and historical data in a way that maps them explicitly as geographic coordinates or implicitly as street addresses and postal codes.
H
Hierarchy
The arrangement or classification of things according to relative importance or inclusion. For example, a product hierarchy enables grouping of products and defines the relationships between products and groups.
I
Interactive visualization
The graphical presentation of information in a way that gives users the ability to influence the view — for example, by changing the time period or filtering data by a certain dimension.
IoT = Internet of Things
A network of physical objects. Devices and things such as smoke detectors, refrigerators, lighting, vehicles, or robots can be connected to an IoT network. The data from these devices can then be read and/or their operation controlled via the network.
J
JAD = Joint Application Development
A process in which the customer or end user participates in the design and development of an application through collaborative workshops known as JAD sessions.
K
KPI = Key Performance Indicator
A metric used to evaluate the success of an organization or employee in achieving performance targets.
Read more: Report and KPI tracking ideas
M
Machine learning
A branch of artificial intelligence in which systems learn from data, identify patterns, and make decisions with minimal human intervention. Machine learning models improve automatically through experience and are used extensively in predictive analytics and anomaly detection.
MDM = Master Data Management
A data management method that enables the consolidation of key data and eliminates unnecessary and inconsistent versions of the same data.
Metadata
“Data about data” — descriptive and definitional information about a particular data store or content unit. For example: the purpose of the data, file size, data quality, data source, etc.
Metrics
Quantitative measures — numbers used to assess, compare, and track performance or output.
Mobile BI
An application that allows a BI system to be used on a mobile device.
N
Non-value-adding
An activity within a company or supply chain that does not directly contribute to meeting end consumers’ needs. These can be thought of as activities that consumers would prefer not to pay for.
O
ODBC = Open Database Connectivity
A standardized application programming interface for accessing databases. Independent of operating system, programming language, or database system.
OLAP = Online Analytical Processing
A type of software that enables fast, multi-dimensional analysis of data from multiple database systems simultaneously. Any data warehouse is an OLAP system.
OLTP = Online Transaction Processing
OLTP-type systems are optimized to handle extremely large numbers of online transactions simultaneously, at high speed, while maintaining data integrity. Examples include point-of-sale systems, booking systems, and ATMs.
On demand
A service or activity that responds to a user’s or customer’s needs as and when required.
Optimization
Actions taken to make the most efficient and effective use of resources or situations.
P
Personalization
Tailoring a product or service to meet the needs and preferences of an individual customer.
Platform
A set of technologies that serves as a foundation for other applications and processes, or on which technologies are built.
Portal
A website that provides access or links to other sites.
Q
Query
A request for data from a database table or combination of tables. A well-known query language is used so that the system can understand and process the query appropriately.
R
Ranking
A process or action of assigning a certain value or position within a classification system.
RBAC = Role-Based Access Control
A method of regulating access to computer and network resources within an organization based on the roles of individual users.
Row level security
The data visible to a user on a report is determined by row-level information. For example, a salesperson sees only their own data by name on the report, while peers appear as anonymous data points.
S
SaaS = Software as a Service
A software licensing model in which access to the software is subscription-based and the software resides on external servers, not within the company.
Slice and dice
Dividing a body of data into smaller parts for more detailed analysis.
Snapshot
A brief summary or overview. A saved copy of a file before it is updated.
SQL = Structured Query Language
A universal language developed for managing databases, used for queries, modifications, and insertions.
Supply Chain Management
The comprehensive planning, control, and management of a company’s material flows and associated information and financial flows, with the goal of maximizing value creation for customers.
T
TERM = Technology-Enabled Relationship Management
The concept of forming a single, company-wide view of the customer across all customer contact channels (sales, marketing, customer service, support). A complex area requiring complex solutions to the challenges of integration, data flow, data access, and marketing strategy.
U
URL = Uniform Resource Locator
A string or address that specifies the path to a file on an internet server.
V
Visualization
The presentation of data, a situation, or a subject as charts or other images. The goal of data visualization is to facilitate interpretation and analysis, and to highlight trends found in the data. Visualization makes the information contained in data visible.
