In Business Intelligence (BI), does a BI solution typically work with existing operational applications and databases, and if so, how does it integrate with them?

Introduction / Context:
Business Intelligence, often shortened to BI, is not a parallel world that lives outside real systems. Instead, BI platforms are designed to sit on top of the applications and databases that an organization already uses. The goal is to turn raw transactional data from those systems into dashboards, reports, and analytics that support better decisions. This question tests whether you understand that BI normally integrates with existing applications and databases instead of demanding that everything be redesigned from the ground up.

Given Data / Assumptions:
Organizations already run operational systems such as ERP, CRM, HR, and custom line of business applications.These systems store data in existing relational databases, data warehouses, or cloud data platforms.BI tools must retrieve, transform, and present this data to business users.The question asks whether BI works with existing applications and databases and how this integration typically happens.

Concept / Approach:
Modern BI platforms provide several integration mechanisms. They use connectors and drivers to query operational databases directly. They use ETL or ELT processes to extract data, transform it into a clean and consistent structure, and load it into data warehouses or data marts. Many BI tools add a semantic layer on top of physical tables, so that business users can work with friendly terms instead of raw column names. The key idea is reuse. A well designed BI solution reuses existing data assets and enriches them with models, metrics, and visualizations, instead of forcing an organization to replace all systems.

Step-by-Step Solution:
First, recognize that most organizations cannot simply throw away their operational applications and databases when implementing BI.Next, understand that BI vendors provide database drivers, APIs, and connectors to popular ERP, CRM, and cloud platforms so they can read data that already exists.Then, remember that ETL tools or built in data pipelines move data from these systems into data warehouses, where it is cleaned and modeled.After that, note that semantic layers, cubes, and metadata models sit above the physical data and expose business friendly objects such as customer, product, and revenue.Finally, compare the options and select the one that states that BI connects to existing applications and databases using integration and transformation mechanisms, which is option A.

Verification / Alternative check:
In real projects, the first BI tasks often involve connecting tools like Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, or SAP BusinessObjects to existing data sources. Project plans frequently mention building ETL jobs, data marts, and semantic layers over operational systems, not replacing them. Vendors also highlight dozens or hundreds of built in connectors to popular databases and cloud services. This real world evidence confirms that BI works with existing applications and databases, which matches option A.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B claims that BI requires rebuilding all applications and databases on a new platform, which would be too expensive and is not how BI is implemented in practice. Option C restricts BI to spreadsheets only, ignoring direct database connectivity and data warehouses. Option D suggests that BI can work only with a single central database and requires removing other applications, which is not realistic for complex organizations. Option E states that BI never touches organizational data and relies only on manual inputs, which completely contradicts the core idea of data driven intelligence.

Common Pitfalls:
A common misconception is to think of BI as a separate reporting system that must replace existing solutions rather than leverage them. Another pitfall is underestimating the effort involved in integrating messy real world data, including data quality, mappings, and governance. Some teams also try to connect BI tools directly to transactional systems without any staging or modeling, which can hurt performance. A solid understanding that BI works with existing applications and databases, using connectors, ETL, and semantic modeling, helps design realistic and sustainable BI architectures.

Final Answer:
The correct answer is: Yes, BI tools connect to existing applications and databases using connectors, ETL processes, and semantic layers without replacing source systems.