Open Source Business Intelligence

Abstract

The emergence of open source business intelligence tools suites can configure itself as a cheaper alternative, with equivalent reliability and functionality levels, compared to available commercial solutions, specially in a context dominated by economical and financial crisis. Open source software appeared with the first computers. The “open source” designation doesn't necessarily mean free (as in 'free of charge') software, but software that can be freely accessed, modified and redistributed, under open source licenses. Business intelligence tools are a class of applications whose purpose is to build systems that allow the organization to analytically explore its consolidated data, using technologies as OLAP, reporting and data mining. There are reliable, widely used, open source applications in every area of the industry. The most used HTTP server in the world, Apache, is open source, as is the second operating system, Linux. The most diverse organizations use critical business applications built on open source platforms. In business intelligence, there is significant use of open source tools for some time now, though it's just starting in Portugal. Pentaho BI Suite is one of the most popular suites world wide. To demonstrate the feasibility of this kind of solution in corporate environments in Portugal, a prototype was built using Pentaho tools, having the PT Comunicações' “Anúncios SAPO” (SAPO Advertisements) system as source. The prototype allows for the conclusion of the solution's feasibility, configuring an option with an equivalent level of functionality and a lower cost level compared to traditional solutions