IBM believes that effective business intelligence (BI) is a state of being, not a single action. It entails quickly developing data-driven insights and immediately delivering those insights to the right people.

This means that BI tools aren’t the entire solution; they’re simply a key part of a business environment that leverages analytics to answer important questions. In the same vein, capabilities like cognitive technology, big data assimilation, and natural language interfaces aren’t just selling points; they’re factors that enable an analytic environment.