At a glance, the term business intelligence might seem like nothing more than a buzz word used to describe the intellectual capabilities of entrepreneurs. However, if you jumped to that very basic conclusion then you're probably not familiar with the actual practice of business intelligence within large companies. In the corporate space, business intelligence (BI) is a field in its own right, based around data, statistical analysis, and strategy. In essence, it's a term used to describe systems, software, processes, and procedures that involve the collection of data for the purpose of forming crucial business insights. As such, the field of BI encompasses every quantitative and qualitative aspect of operations, serving as the lead department for the company's current and future direction.