Foundations of Business Intelligence (Coursera)

Offered by Google,
Foundations of Business Intelligence (Coursera)

This is the first of three courses in the Google Business Intelligence Certificate, which will help develop the skills needed to apply for entry-level roles as a business intelligence (BI) professional. People who work in BI help organizations access the right data, use data to help businesses grow and improve, and put insights into action. In this course, you’ll discover the role of BI professionals within an organization and explore BI tools you can use on the job.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Google employees who currently work in BI will guide you through this course by providing hands-on activities that simulate job tasks, sharing examples from their day-to-day work, and helping you build business intelligence skills to prepare for a career in the field.
Learners who complete the three courses in this certificate program will have the skills needed to apply for business intelligence jobs. This certificate program assumes prior knowledge of foundational analytical principles, skills, and tools covered in the Google Data Analytics Certificate.
By the end of this course, you will:
-Make key distinctions between business intelligence (BI) and data analysis
-Explore how data is used in business processes and decision-making
-Describe ways that BI professionals impact their organizations
-Identify the uses and benefits of BI tools, including data models, pipelines, data visualizations, and dashboards
-Acquire, manipulate, and integrate data using key BI concepts
-Select and define metrics that are relevant to project goals and stakeholder questions
-Develop and execute a BI project by working with stakeholders to determine project requirements, execute tasks, and deliver insights that guide decision-making

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Data-driven results through business intelligence
Begin learning about business intelligence and the roles of BI analysts and engineers within organizations. You’ll discover the tools and techniques BI professionals use to make business decisions and improve processes. In addition, you’ll explore the similarities and differences between BI and data analytics.

WEEK 2
Business intelligence tools and techniques
Explore the BI process, which involves engaging with stakeholders, using tools to make the most of available data, and applying the power of rapid monitoring to make smart business decisions. In addition, you’ll start building career resources by enhancing your online presence, developing strategies for networking and mentorship, and creating a portfolio that will impress future hiring managers.

WEEK 3
Context is crucial for purposeful insights
Consider the importance of context from a BI perspective. You’ll explore data limitations, including how to address constant changes and access big-picture insights in a timely manner. You’ll also discover strategies that BI professionals use to anticipate and overcome these limitations. Finally, you’ll develop an understanding of how context influences metrics.

WEEK 4
Course 1 end-of-course project
Finally, you’ll complete an end-of-course project. The project is an opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge you developed during this course in a workplace scenario. For this project, you’ll prepare project planning documents and solve a business problem using BI.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Reproducible Research (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Reproducible Research (Coursera)

This course focuses on the concepts and tools behind reporting modern data analyses in a reproducible manner. Reproducible research is the idea that data analyses, and more generally, scientific claims, are published with their data and software code so that others may verify the findings and build upon them. The need for reproducibility is increasing dramatically as data analyses become more complex, involving larger datasets and more sophisticated computations.

Jun 15th 2026
4 Weeks
Introduction to Big Data (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, San Diego

Introduction to Big Data (Coursera)

Interested in increasing your knowledge of the Big Data landscape? This course is for those new to data science and interested in understanding why the Big Data Era has come to be. It is for those who want to become conversant with the terminology and the core concepts behind big data problems, applications, and systems. It is for those who want to start thinking about how Big Data might be useful in their business or career. It provides an introduction to one of the most common frameworks, Hadoop, that has made big data analysis easier and more accessible -- increasing the potential for data to transform our world!

Jun 15th 2026
3 Weeks
Corporate Finance Essentials (Coursera) Coursera
IESE Business School

Corporate Finance Essentials (Coursera)

Corporate Finance Essentials will enable you to understand key financial issues related to companies, investors, and the interaction between them in the capital markets. By the end of this course you should be able to understand most of what you read in the financial press and use the essential financial vocabulary of companies and finance professionals.

Jun 15th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Strategic Planning and Execution (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Strategic Planning and Execution (Coursera)

Avoid the pitfalls of strategy planning and execution with the tools and skills from this course. You'll learn the pillars of strategy execution--analysis, formulation, and implementation--and how to use the 4A model to effectively approach strategy execution. Finally, a panel of leaders from entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and industry, share their expertise gleaned from years of successful strategy planning and execution.

Jun 15th 2026
4 Weeks
Operations Management: Analysis and Improvement Methods (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Operations Management: Analysis and Improvement Methods (Coursera)

In this course, you will learn about the role of operations and how they are connected to other business functions in manufacturing- and service-focused organizations. You will learn and practice the use of decision-making frameworks and techniques applicable at all levels, from management-level strategic decisions such as connecting process to the needs of various customer segments, to front-line tactical decisions such as choosing between ordering larger quantities vs. ordering more frequently.

Jun 15th 2026
4 Weeks
Digital Marketing Analytics in Practice (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Digital Marketing Analytics in Practice (Coursera)

Successfully marketing brands today requires a well-balanced blend of art and science. This course introduces students to the science of web analytics while casting a keen eye toward the artful use of numbers found in the digital space. The goal is to provide the foundation needed to apply data analytics to real-world challenges marketers confront daily. Students will learn to identify the web analytic tool right for their specific needs; understand valid and reliable ways to collect, analyze, and visualize data from the web; and utilize data in decision making for agencies, organizations or clients.

Jun 15th 2026
4 Weeks
Business Growth Strategy (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Business Growth Strategy (Coursera)

Get the tools you need to analyze, evaluate and recommend specific actions organizations can take to grow their value and avoid common growth pitfalls. In this course, developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and taught by top-ranked faculty, you will learn to determine how best to build value, whether by scaling existing markets, entering established markets or creating new markets through innovation and acquisitions.

Jun 15th 2026
4 Weeks
Database Management Essentials (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

Database Management Essentials (Coursera)

Database Management Essentials provides the foundation you need for a career in database development, data warehousing, or business intelligence, as well as for the entire Data Warehousing for Business Intelligence specialization. In this course, you will create relational databases, write SQL statements to extract information to satisfy business reporting requests, create entity relationship diagrams (ERDs) to design databases, and analyze table designs for excessive redundancy.

Jun 15th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Exploratory Data Analysis (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Exploratory Data Analysis (Coursera)

This course covers the essential exploratory techniques for summarizing data. These techniques are typically applied before formal modeling commences and can help inform the development of more complex statistical models. Exploratory techniques are also important for eliminating or sharpening potential hypotheses about the world that can be addressed by the data.

Jun 15th 2026
4 Weeks