This layer represents the components needed to create and manage large-scale data integration solutions and to consolidate data from across the organization for delivery as a single view of information.

This pattern includes

• Real-time process-based creation, management, and distribution of contextual and full-featured reports that are available on a variety of devices 
• Data mining; predictive and closed-loop analysis
• Effective and efficient performance monitoring against organizational goals in real time.

The Business Intelligence (BI) layer integrates with other layers to enable IT to present a single view of information to applications and to provide interfaces that facilitate collaboration and decision-making. Centralized management gives IT one place to set up, deploy, administer, and manage reporting, analysis, and performance-management solutions. Tight integration with security, authorized access, collaboration, and business management features ensure compliance and control over information. The BI layer represents a complete end-to-end, integrated, and fully scalable BI implementation.

An example business intelligence system would enable users to create real-time scorecards, reports, and dashboards with data sourced from different systems, including alerts based on business rules.

Architectural pre-requisites: Infrastructure, Security, SOA and BPM, Data, IT Process

Architectural recommendations: ECM and Collaboration

Solution patterns it enables: User Experience, Web and Social Computing