allows users to &"see&" or visualize data to transform information into a business perspective -sophisticated analysis techniques such as pie charts, controls, instruments, maps, time-series graphs, and more
abstracting data to provide info in a visual format -enhance user's ability to efficiently comprehend the meaning of data  -pie/bar charts -heat map -gantt chart -line graphs -scatter plots
searching for valuable business info in a large database, warehouse or mart 1. predicts trends and behaviors 2. identifies previously unknown patterns - explains why it happened