Cloud refers to the provision of IT resources and services over the internet instead of local servers or PCs. This means that data and applications can be stored and managed in a cloud platform that can be accessed from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection.
AWS, Azure, Salesforce and Google Cloud are all so-called “cloud computing platforms”. This means that they provide an infrastructure on which companies can store and operate their applications, data and other resources without having to own physical servers and infrastructure themselves.
A comparison in the non-IT world might look like this: A person needs a storage room at home for all their furniture. One could use a room at home for this, but if one does not have enough space or needs additional security, one could rent a storage room from a storage company. The storage company would provide a room where the furniture could be stored. One would not have to worry about the physical infrastructure required to run the warehouse, but could focus on storing and managing the furniture there.
Similarly, cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, Salesforce and Google Cloud offer companies a way to store and run their applications and data in a secure, scalable and accessible environment without having to worry about physical infrastructure.
A database is a system for storing and organising data. It is like a big cupboard where information is kept. In this cupboard there are many drawers and each drawer has its own name and contains certain types of things. For example, if you have clothes, there might be a drawer for shirts, one for trousers and one for socks. In a database there are similar ‘drawers’ called tables and each table has its own columns and rows that store different types of data.
A pipeline is like an assembly line in a factory. On this assembly line things move from one station to the next and at each station something specific is done. In a data pipeline, data moves from one station to the next as it is processed. For example, data may be retrieved from a source such as a database and sent to a station for data cleansing. From there, it is sent to another station for data analysis and finally to a station for storage in another database.
Business intelligence is the industry term. In general, it is the process of collecting, analysing and presenting data to make better business decisions.
This means that companies collect and analyse various data sources such as sales data, customer feedback and operational data to identify trends and patterns.
This information is then presented in reports and dashboards that enable business departments and decision makers to make informed decisions.
Business intelligence helps companies increase the effectiveness of business processes, reduce costs, better understand customers and gain competitive advantage.
This image illustrates the BI process:
Source: LinkedIn
Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence software that enables companies to create visual, inteteractive reports and dashboards.
Unlike Excel, which is more commonly used to process and analyse data on a row and column level, Power BI provides the ability to collect data from multiple sources and present it visually. Power BI already includes the possibilities to implement an ETL process, but in larger BI projects it is primarily used for visualisation. The ETL process is outsourced to tools such as Fabric, Data Factory, Synapse Analytics or Databricks.
Microsoft Power was released in 2015 and has since become the market leader:
Source: Microsoft Power BI Blog
