Within an organisation, who are Business Intelligence (BI) systems primarily intended for and who can benefit from BI reports and dashboards?

Introduction / Context:
BI systems are not designed only for technical staff. Their main goal is to support business decision makers at different levels. This question checks whether you can identify the broad target audience for BI dashboards, scorecards, and reports inside an organisation.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• BI systems aggregate and transform transactional data into meaningful information.
• Many roles within a company rely on reports and analytics.
• The question asks who BI systems are intended for, not who builds them.
• Decision making is a key theme.

Concept / Approach:
BI systems are built so that decision makers at many levels can view, analyse, and act on data. This includes analysts who explore detailed data, managers who monitor key performance indicators, directors who align strategy, and auditors who review compliance. While IT staff maintain BI infrastructure, the primary consumers are business roles that make decisions based on transactional and operational data.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify roles inside a company that need information to guide decisions, such as analysts, managers, directors, and auditors. Step 2: Recognise that database administrators and developers support BI systems but are not the only intended users. Step 3: Select the option that explicitly mentions many decision making roles and the use of transactional data.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify by considering how BI tools are used in practice. Dashboards are built for executives, managers, and operational teams. Analysts use BI tools to drill into data. Auditors may use reports for compliance checks. This confirms that the intended audience is broad and not limited to technical staff.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option b: Limits BI systems to database administrators, who are responsible for maintenance but are not the only users or the primary target group.

Option c: Suggests that external customers are the only beneficiaries, while BI is primarily for internal decision makers using internal data.

Option d: Restricts BI to software developers who write ETL code; these developers build the system but are not the main consumers of its analytical outputs.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent pitfall is to think of BI as an IT project rather than a business initiative. This can lead to designs that focus on technology rather than user needs. Another mistake is to design BI only for senior executives and ignore the needs of middle managers and operational staff, even though they also require timely data.

Final Answer:
BI systems are intended for any member of the organisation who makes decisions based on transactional and operational data, including analysts, managers, directors, and auditors, not only technical staff.