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The world of business intelligence (BI) has been dominated by a technicians approach. There are architectures, data models, algorithms, and transformations. Now there is a book about the "soft side of business intelligence“ from the perspective of the businessperson.

The Profit Impact of Business Intelligence by Nancy Williams and Steve Williams covers a wide variety of topics, all relevant and informative. There are several highlights to the book:

• A checklist of common mistakes to avoid when building the business intelligence infrastructure,
  
  
• What to look for in the building of the business intelligence infrastructure,
  
  
• Plenty of "mini" case studies, and so forth.

In addition, there is a brief section on the early dawn of information systems, beginning with simple cost accounting and going to the balanced scorecard. Another interesting feature is the discussion of the maturity model of business intelligence.

Another nice feature of the book is the sprinkling throughout of pithy words and contributions from notables such as Michael Porter, Peter Drucker, Gordon Moore and others.

The Profit Impact of Business Intelligence is an easy read that is full of good information. This book belongs on the desk of the business manager charged with building and operating the business intelligence infrastructure. This book represents a valuable contribution to the different perspectives that surround business intelligence.

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