Integrating with business intelligence tools

The Business Intelligence (BI) tools available in watsonx.data homepage makes it easy to move from data preparation to analysis without switching applications. With the BI tools, you can create metrics, chat with data, and connect to new sources, all while keeping your project context and settings intact. Start by selecting data assets from watsonx.data that have not been previously enriched with metadata. Then, use your BI tool to enrich these assets, define metrics, and analyze insights through the BI interface. This approach ensures accurate results, prevents duplication, and delivers consistent, reliable business intelligence.

For accurate BI metrics and reliable insights, you must perform data enrichment within their BI tools rather than in watsonx.data. The following are the key use cases enabled by this integration:

  • Data Engineer: Validate dataset quality in watsonx.data and link out to watsonx BI for visualization without external checks or migration.
  • Data Engineer: Analyze newly ingested structured and unstructured data immediately in watsonx BI without switching tools.
  • Business User: Ask questions in natural language across structured and unstructured sources and share insights without technical help.
  • Data Steward: Test and validate governance policies in watsonx BI using live data and different roles before publishing.
  • Data Analyst: Incorporate document collections from watsonx.data into watsonx BI semantic models to enrich metrics and insights.
  • Business User: Switch data context in watsonx BI chat to query watsonx.data documents and gather insights without breaking workflow.

Before you begin

  • You need to have a project set up in the watsonx.data.

  • You must provision Business intelligence service.

  • You need to have a project set up in the watsonx BI.

Starting BI Workflows from watsonx.data

Access watsonx.data home page. Find the Based on your interests section on the left panel. Click the dropdown and select Business intelligence usecase. You can view the following tiles:

  • Connect to a data source : Opens the watsonx platform’s connection interface to add new data sources.
  • Create metrics : Redirects to the watsonx BI console. YOu can create a semantic model for the structured data.
  • Chat with data : Opens watsonx BI’s conversational analytics interface to query data using natural language. You can start conversing with the data that is modelled.

Connecting to data source

Connecting your project to the right data source is the first step toward unlocking powerful insights. Connect to various data sources, enabling seamless integration and access to the information you need.

From watsonx.data home page, click the Connect to a data source tile. The Add connection page opens. For information about how to connect to different data source, see Adding connections to data sources in a project.

Creating metrics

The Create metrics workflow is where you connect to or upload data, data undergoes metadata enrichment, you can then generate metrics and visualizations automatically or build them manually, and model data to create joins, relationships, and calculations.

From watsonx.data home page, click the Create metrics tile. The Data and Metrics page opens.

Data and metrics

You can create your own metrics and manage your data. For more information, see Creating a metrics.

Conversing with your data

From watsonx.data home page, click the Chat with data tile. The Ask watsonx BI chat interface opens. You can start a new conversation.

Chat with data

For more information, see Chat with your data.

For more information, see Accessing watsonx BI from watsonx.data Premium.

Limitations

  • To ensure accurate insights, watsonx BI requires metadata enrichment prior to analysis. Begin by defining metrics to enrich and model your data before posing questions or generating visualizations. Failure to complete this step may result in inaccurate or inconsistent outcomes.

  • The Connect to data option in the watsonx.data™ perspective does not filter for watsonx BI connectors: If you click Connect to data in the watsonx.data perspective, you can see connection types that you cannot use with watsonx BI assets.

    Workaround Create connections in the Business Intelligence perspective.

  • Metrics from imported assets cannot be used: If you import a project from the watsonx.data perspective, the metrics in this project cannot be used with Business intelligence tools.

  • View all catalogs option is missing from the navigation menu: When you click the navigation menu while you are in the watsonx.data perspective, the View all catalogs option is not shown under the Catalogs dropdown.

  • Changed perspective when viewing an imported project: When you import a project from the watsonx.data perspective and try to view the new project, the project opens in the Business Intelligence perspective.

    Workaround Manually switch back to the watsonx.data perspective by using the 9-dot switcher.