There are a good number of solutions, tools, and software that help companies and organizations to make sense of their data by turning it into information. This information needs to be analyzed and visualized in such a way that it can generate knowledge and insight into the past, present, and future of the organization. This cycle of data-information-knowledge-action is commonly known as business intelligence or business analytics, depending on the usage of that knowledge and the focus and perspective of those who make decisions. In simple terms, we can think of business intelligence as a way to maintain and optimize the present by looking into the past, whereas business analytics focuses on transforming the future by changing the present. MicroStrategy has been one of the market's leading business intelligence and analytics platforms since 1989.

This first chapter will introduce the MicroStrategy platform and explain its main components. Then it will cover MicroStrategy installation and configuration so that readers can start creating their first project and reporting applications right away. The following topics will be covered: