Mobile business intelligence to play bigger role in future

In 2009, according to statistics, worldwide smartphone sales reached 172.4 million units. In 2011 it is predicted this figure will reach 472 million units - a significant jump from figures a mere two years ago. Says Martin Rennhackkamp, COO of PBT: "These statistics alone not only show the relevance of the mobile device today, but also reinforces how such devices are beginning to change the mindsets of users and ultimately companies. It is due to the substantial benefits these devices are offering, particularly to the business market."

Mobile devices are allowing businesses to have a more mobile and subsequently a more flexible workforce. This means that employees are no longer restricted to the office, but rather can now get their jobs done anywhere and whilst on the move. This can result in a more productive pool of staff and can have an end result of a more profitable organisation - one that is on top of trends and therefore remains competitive.

BI has serious implications and challenges

It is no wonder then why the term mobile BI is fast attracting more attention. Continues Rennhackkamp: "As a business decision maker, who makes important decisions everyday, imagine being able to view the information BI forecasts, that you need to make these decisions, instantly, no matter your location. While this is the ultimate goal of mobile BI, it can be considered quite a loaded statement, as the successful deployment of mobile BI has a number of serious implications and challenges that need to be addressed for businesses to reap the full benefits.

Therefore, when looking into mobile BI as an organisation, PBT suggest some key points that businesses should keep in mind to achieve this. Mobile applications, BI included, are not always applicable to all organisations. For mobile BI to be applicable, the organisation's data integration, measure standardisation and reporting/dashboarding portal solutions must already be well bedded down.

To ensure that remote BI is manageable, the organisation must ensure a single point of origin for all reports and publishing of information should be used. Furthermore, a mobile BI solution should display only the relevant data, at the appropriate level of summarisation, with suitable navigation options, using the facilities appropriate to the mobile platform, to avoid display issued on the mobile device being used.

As is true in any BI environment, there will be change. Business priorities, burning issues and market opportunities will most definitely change during the deployment timeframe of a mobile BI solution, as well as in the course of on-going management. The architecture and deployment approach must therefore cater for these changes to allow for mobile BI to remain a success.