As the old Chinese saying goes, "To accomplish a goal, make sure the proper tools are selected." This is especially true when the goal is to achieve business intelligence. Given the complexity of the data warehousing system and the cross-departmental implications of the project, it is easy to see why the proper selection of business intelligence software and personnel is very important. This section will talk about the such selections. They are grouped into the following:

• General Considerations
• Database/Hardware
• ETL Tools
• OLAP Tools
• Reporting Tools
• Metadata Tools
• Open Source Business Intelligence Tools
• Data Warehouse Team Personnel