Mobile business intelligence
Encyclopedia
Mobile Business Intelligence (Mobile BI or Mobile Intelligence) refers to the distribution of business data to mobile devices such as smartphone
s and tablet computer
s. Business intelligence
(BI) refers to computer-based techniques used in spotting, digging-out, and analyzing business data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments or associated costs and incomes.
Although the concept of mobile computing has been prevalent for over a decade, Mobile BI has shown a momentum/growth only very recently. This change has been partly encouraged by a change from the ‘wired world’ to a wireless world with the advantage of smartphones which has led to a new era of mobile computing, especially in the field of BI.
According to the Aberdeen Group, a large number of companies are rapidly undertaking mobile BI owing to a large number of market pressures such as the need for higher efficiency in business processes, improvement in employee productivity (e.g., time spent looking for information), better and faster decision making, better customer service, and delivery of real-time bi-directional data access to make decisions anytime and anywhere.
on a personal computer to connect to BI applications. These BI applications request data from databases. Starting in the late 1990s, BI systems offered alternatives for receiving data
, including email and mobile devices.
) or text messages. These applications were designed for specific mobile devices, contained minimal amounts of information, and provided no data interactivity. As a result, the early mobile BI applications were expensive to design and maintain while providing limited informational value, and garnered little interest.
, a handheld computer integrated with a mobile phone, provided a means to read simple tables of data. The small screen space, immature mobile browsers, and slow data transmission could not provide a satisfactory BI experience.
Accessibility and bandwidth may be perceived as issues when it comes to mobile technology, but BI solutions provide advanced functionality to predict and outperform such potential challenges. While Web-based mobile BI solutions provide little to no control over the processing of data in a network, managed BI solutions for mobile devices only utilize the server for specific operations. In addition, local reports are compressed both during transmission and on the device, permitting greater flexibility for storage and receipt of these reports. Within a mobile environment, users capitalize on easy access to information because the mobile application operates within a single authoring environment that permits access to all BI content (respecting existing security) regardless of language or locale. Furthermore, the user will not need to build and maintain a separate mobile BI deployment. In addition, mobile BI requires much less bandwidth for functionality. Mobile BI promises a small report footprint on memory, encryption during transmission as well as on the device, and compressed data storage for offline viewing and use.
released the first BlackBerry
smartphone optimized for wireless email use. Wireless e-mail proved to be the “killer app” that accelerated the popularity of the smartphone market. By the mid-2000s, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry had solidified its hold on the smartphone market with both corporate and governmental organizations. The BlackBerry smartphones eliminated the obstacles to mobile business intelligence. The BlackBerry offered a consistent treatment of data across its many models, provided a much larger screen for viewing data, and allowed user interactivity via the thumbwheel and keyboard. BI vendors re-entered the market with offerings spanning different mobile operating systems (BlackBerry, Windows, Symbian
) and data access methods. The two most popular data access options were:
Research in Motion
is continuing to lose market share to Apple
and Android smartphones. In the first three months of 2011 Google’s Android OS gained 7 points of market share. During the same time period RIM’s market share collapsed and dropped almost 5 points.
. In the first three years, Apple sold over 33.75 million units. Similarly in 2010, Apple sold over 1 million iPads in just under three months. Both devices feature an interactive touchscreen display that is the de facto standard on many mobile phones and tablet computers.
In 2008, Apple published the SDK
for which developers can build applications that run natively on the iPhone and iPad instead of Safari based-applications. These native applications can give the user a robust, easier-to-read and easier-to-navigate experience. The Apple App Store now has over 250,000 apps, giving the Apple mobile devices a decided advantage.
Others were quick to replicate Apple’s success. The Android Market
now has over 200,000 apps available for the mobile devices running the Android operating system.
More importantly, the advent of the Apple iPhone has radically changed the way people use data on their mobile devices. This includes mobile BI. Business intelligence applications can be used to transform reports and data into mobile dashboards, and have them instantly delivered to any iPhone or iPad.
Google Inc.’s Android has overtaken Apple Inc.’s iOS in the wildly growing arena of app downloads. In the second quarter of 2011, 44% of all apps downloaded from app marketplaces across the web were for Android devices while 31% were for Apple devices, according to new data from ABI Research. The remaining apps were for various other mobile operating systems, including BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7.
Mobile BI applications have evolved from being a client application for viewing data to a purpose built application designed to provide information and workflows necessary to quickly make business decisions and take action.
or Android apps, downloaded from iTunes
or the Android Market
) or a web application strategy (browser-based, works on most devices without an application being installed on the device). This debate continues and there are benefits and drawbacks to both methods. One potential solution will be the wider adoption of HTML5 on mobile devices which will give web applications many of the characteristics of dedicated applications while still allowing them to work on many devices without an installed application.
Microsoft
has announced their mobile BI strategy. Microsoft
plans to support browser-based applications such as Reporting Services and PerformancePoint on iOS in the first half of 2012 and touch-based applications on iOS and Android by the second half of 2012.
Despite popular perception that Microsoft
only acknowledges its own existence, recent moves suggest the company is aware that it is not the only player in the technology ecosystem. Instead of attempting to squelch competition or suggesting new technology developments were ridiculous the company has instead decided to make its technology accessible to a wider audience.
There are many mobile devices and platforms available today. The list is constantly growing and so is the platform support. There are hundreds of models available today, with multiple hardware and software combinations. The enterprise must select a device very carefully. The target devices will impact the mobile BI design itself because the design for a smartphone will be different than for a tablet. The screen size, processor, memory, etc. all vary. The mobile BI program must account for lack of device standardization from the providers by constantly testing devices for the mobile BI apps.
Some best practices can always be followed. For example, a smartphone is a good candidate for operational mobile BI. However, for analytics and what-if analysis, tablets are the best option. Hence, the selection or availability of the device plays a big role in the implementation.
analyst Ted Friedman believes that mobile delivery of BI is all about practical, tactical information needed to make immediate decisions – "The biggest value is in operational BI — information in the context of applications — not in pushing lots of data to somebody's phone."
Accessing the Internet through a mobile device such as a smartphone is also known as the mobile Internet or mobile Web
. IDC expects the US mobile workforce to increase by 73% in 2011. Morgan Stanley reports the mobile Internet is ramping up faster than its predecessor, the desktop Internet, enabling companies to deliver knowledge to their mobile workforce to help them make more profitable decisions.
Michael Cooney from Gartner
has identified bring-your-own-technology at work as becoming the norm, not the exception. By 2015 media tablet shipments will reach around 50% of laptop shipments and Windows 8 will likely be in third place behind Android and Apple. The net result is that Microsoft’s share of the client platform, be it PC, tablet or smartphone, will likely be reduced to 60% and it could fall below 50%.
for Business Intelligence Platforms, Gartner
examines whether the platform enables users to "fully interact with BI content delivered to mobile devices." The phrase "fully interact" is the key. The ability to send alerts embedded in email or text messages, or links to static content in email messages hardly represents sophistication in mobile analytics.
For users to benefit from mobile BI, they must be able to navigate dashboard and guided analytics comfortably -- or as comfortably as the mobile device will allow, which is where devices with high-resolution screens and touch interfaces (like the iPhone
and Android-based phones) have a clear edge over, say, earlier editions of BlackBerry
.
It is equally important to take a step back to define your purpose and adoption patterns. Which business users stand to benefit the most from mobile analytics -- and what, exactly, is their requirement? You don't need mobile analytics to send a few alerts or summary reports to their handhelds -- without interactivity, mobile BI is indistinguishable from merely informative email or text messages.
Companies across all verticals, from retail to even non-profit organizations are realizing the value of purpose-specific mobile applications suited for their mobile workforce.
while Android apps require coding in Java. In addition to the user functionality of the app, the app must be coded to work with the supporting server infrastructure required to serve data to the mobile BI app. While custom coded apps offer near limitless options, the specialized software coding expertise and infrastructure can be expensive to development, modify, and maintain.
Using graphical BI development tools can allow faster mobile BI app development when a custom application is required.
A comprehensive mobile security solution must provide security at these levels:
manufacturers provide a complete set of security features including full-disk encryption, email encryption, as well as remote management which includes the ability to wipe contents if device is lost or stolen. Also, some devices have embedded third-party antivirus and firewall softwares such as RIM
's BlackBerry
.
(SSL), iSeries™ Access for Windows®, and virtual private network (VPN) connections. A secure data transmission should enable the identity of the sender and receiver to be verified by using a cryptographic shared key system as well as protect the data to be modified by a third party when it crosses the network. This can be done using AES
or Triple DES
with an encrypted SSL
tunnel.
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s and tablet computer
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
s. Business intelligence
Business intelligence
Business intelligence mainly refers to computer-based techniques used in identifying, extracting, and analyzing business data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments, or by associated costs and incomes....
(BI) refers to computer-based techniques used in spotting, digging-out, and analyzing business data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments or associated costs and incomes.
Although the concept of mobile computing has been prevalent for over a decade, Mobile BI has shown a momentum/growth only very recently. This change has been partly encouraged by a change from the ‘wired world’ to a wireless world with the advantage of smartphones which has led to a new era of mobile computing, especially in the field of BI.
According to the Aberdeen Group, a large number of companies are rapidly undertaking mobile BI owing to a large number of market pressures such as the need for higher efficiency in business processes, improvement in employee productivity (e.g., time spent looking for information), better and faster decision making, better customer service, and delivery of real-time bi-directional data access to make decisions anytime and anywhere.
Information delivery to mobile devices
The predominant method for accessing BI information is using proprietary software or a Web browserWeb browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
on a personal computer to connect to BI applications. These BI applications request data from databases. Starting in the late 1990s, BI systems offered alternatives for receiving data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
, including email and mobile devices.
Static data push
Initially, mobile devices such as pagers and mobile phones received pushed data using a short message service (SMSSMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
) or text messages. These applications were designed for specific mobile devices, contained minimal amounts of information, and provided no data interactivity. As a result, the early mobile BI applications were expensive to design and maintain while providing limited informational value, and garnered little interest.
Data access via a mobile browser
The mobile browser on a smartphoneSmartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
, a handheld computer integrated with a mobile phone, provided a means to read simple tables of data. The small screen space, immature mobile browsers, and slow data transmission could not provide a satisfactory BI experience.
Accessibility and bandwidth may be perceived as issues when it comes to mobile technology, but BI solutions provide advanced functionality to predict and outperform such potential challenges. While Web-based mobile BI solutions provide little to no control over the processing of data in a network, managed BI solutions for mobile devices only utilize the server for specific operations. In addition, local reports are compressed both during transmission and on the device, permitting greater flexibility for storage and receipt of these reports. Within a mobile environment, users capitalize on easy access to information because the mobile application operates within a single authoring environment that permits access to all BI content (respecting existing security) regardless of language or locale. Furthermore, the user will not need to build and maintain a separate mobile BI deployment. In addition, mobile BI requires much less bandwidth for functionality. Mobile BI promises a small report footprint on memory, encryption during transmission as well as on the device, and compressed data storage for offline viewing and use.
Mobile client application
In 2002, Research in MotionResearch In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
released the first BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
smartphone optimized for wireless email use. Wireless e-mail proved to be the “killer app” that accelerated the popularity of the smartphone market. By the mid-2000s, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry had solidified its hold on the smartphone market with both corporate and governmental organizations. The BlackBerry smartphones eliminated the obstacles to mobile business intelligence. The BlackBerry offered a consistent treatment of data across its many models, provided a much larger screen for viewing data, and allowed user interactivity via the thumbwheel and keyboard. BI vendors re-entered the market with offerings spanning different mobile operating systems (BlackBerry, Windows, Symbian
Symbian
Symbian is a mobile operating system and computing platform designed for smartphones and currently maintained by Accenture. The Symbian platform is the successor to Symbian OS and Nokia Series 60; unlike Symbian OS, which needed an additional user interface system, Symbian includes a user...
) and data access methods. The two most popular data access options were:
- to use the mobile browser to access data, similar to desktop computer, and
- to create a native application designed specifically for the mobile device.
Research in Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
is continuing to lose market share to Apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
and Android smartphones. In the first three months of 2011 Google’s Android OS gained 7 points of market share. During the same time period RIM’s market share collapsed and dropped almost 5 points.
Purpose-built Mobile BI apps
Apple quickly set the standard for mobile devices with the introduction of the iPhoneIPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
. In the first three years, Apple sold over 33.75 million units. Similarly in 2010, Apple sold over 1 million iPads in just under three months. Both devices feature an interactive touchscreen display that is the de facto standard on many mobile phones and tablet computers.
In 2008, Apple published the SDK
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
for which developers can build applications that run natively on the iPhone and iPad instead of Safari based-applications. These native applications can give the user a robust, easier-to-read and easier-to-navigate experience. The Apple App Store now has over 250,000 apps, giving the Apple mobile devices a decided advantage.
Others were quick to replicate Apple’s success. The Android Market
Android Market
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...
now has over 200,000 apps available for the mobile devices running the Android operating system.
More importantly, the advent of the Apple iPhone has radically changed the way people use data on their mobile devices. This includes mobile BI. Business intelligence applications can be used to transform reports and data into mobile dashboards, and have them instantly delivered to any iPhone or iPad.
Google Inc.’s Android has overtaken Apple Inc.’s iOS in the wildly growing arena of app downloads. In the second quarter of 2011, 44% of all apps downloaded from app marketplaces across the web were for Android devices while 31% were for Apple devices, according to new data from ABI Research. The remaining apps were for various other mobile operating systems, including BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7.
Mobile BI applications have evolved from being a client application for viewing data to a purpose built application designed to provide information and workflows necessary to quickly make business decisions and take action.
Web Applications vs. Device-Specific Applications for Mobile BI
In early 2011, as the mobile BI software market started to mature and adoption started to grow at a significant pace in both small and large enterprises, most vendors have adopted either a purpose built, device-specific application strategy (e.g. iPhoneIPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
or Android apps, downloaded from iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
or the Android Market
Android Market
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...
) or a web application strategy (browser-based, works on most devices without an application being installed on the device). This debate continues and there are benefits and drawbacks to both methods. One potential solution will be the wider adoption of HTML5 on mobile devices which will give web applications many of the characteristics of dedicated applications while still allowing them to work on many devices without an installed application.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
has announced their mobile BI strategy. Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
plans to support browser-based applications such as Reporting Services and PerformancePoint on iOS in the first half of 2012 and touch-based applications on iOS and Android by the second half of 2012.
Despite popular perception that Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
only acknowledges its own existence, recent moves suggest the company is aware that it is not the only player in the technology ecosystem. Instead of attempting to squelch competition or suggesting new technology developments were ridiculous the company has instead decided to make its technology accessible to a wider audience.
There are many mobile devices and platforms available today. The list is constantly growing and so is the platform support. There are hundreds of models available today, with multiple hardware and software combinations. The enterprise must select a device very carefully. The target devices will impact the mobile BI design itself because the design for a smartphone will be different than for a tablet. The screen size, processor, memory, etc. all vary. The mobile BI program must account for lack of device standardization from the providers by constantly testing devices for the mobile BI apps.
Some best practices can always be followed. For example, a smartphone is a good candidate for operational mobile BI. However, for analytics and what-if analysis, tablets are the best option. Hence, the selection or availability of the device plays a big role in the implementation.
Demand
GartnerGartner
Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001....
analyst Ted Friedman believes that mobile delivery of BI is all about practical, tactical information needed to make immediate decisions – "The biggest value is in operational BI — information in the context of applications — not in pushing lots of data to somebody's phone."
Accessing the Internet through a mobile device such as a smartphone is also known as the mobile Internet or mobile Web
Mobile Web
The Mobile Web refers to the use of Internet-connected applications, or browser-based access to the Internet from a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer, connected to a wireless network....
. IDC expects the US mobile workforce to increase by 73% in 2011. Morgan Stanley reports the mobile Internet is ramping up faster than its predecessor, the desktop Internet, enabling companies to deliver knowledge to their mobile workforce to help them make more profitable decisions.
Michael Cooney from Gartner
Gartner
Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001....
has identified bring-your-own-technology at work as becoming the norm, not the exception. By 2015 media tablet shipments will reach around 50% of laptop shipments and Windows 8 will likely be in third place behind Android and Apple. The net result is that Microsoft’s share of the client platform, be it PC, tablet or smartphone, will likely be reduced to 60% and it could fall below 50%.
Business Benefits
In its latest Magic QuadrantMagic Quadrant
The Gartner Magic Quadrant is a proprietary research tool developed by Gartner Inc., a US based research and advisory firm. According to Gartner, the Magic Quadrant aims to provide a qualitative analysis into a market and its direction, maturity and participants, thus possibly enabling a company...
for Business Intelligence Platforms, Gartner
Gartner
Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001....
examines whether the platform enables users to "fully interact with BI content delivered to mobile devices." The phrase "fully interact" is the key. The ability to send alerts embedded in email or text messages, or links to static content in email messages hardly represents sophistication in mobile analytics.
For users to benefit from mobile BI, they must be able to navigate dashboard and guided analytics comfortably -- or as comfortably as the mobile device will allow, which is where devices with high-resolution screens and touch interfaces (like the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and Android-based phones) have a clear edge over, say, earlier editions of BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
.
It is equally important to take a step back to define your purpose and adoption patterns. Which business users stand to benefit the most from mobile analytics -- and what, exactly, is their requirement? You don't need mobile analytics to send a few alerts or summary reports to their handhelds -- without interactivity, mobile BI is indistinguishable from merely informative email or text messages.
Applications
Similar to consumer applications, which have shown an ever increasing growth over the past few years, a constant demand for anytime, anywhere access to BI is leading to a number of custom mobile application development. Businesses have also started adopting mobile solutions for their workforce and are soon becoming key components of core business processes. In an Aberdeen survey conducted in May 2010, 23% of companies participating indicated that they now have a mobile BI app or dashboard in place, while another 31% indicated that they plan to implement some form of mobile BI in the next year.Definitions
Mobile BI applications can be defined/segregated as follows:- Mobile Browser Rendered App: Almost any mobile device enables Web-based, thin client, HTML-only BI applications. However, these apps are static and provide little data interactivity. Data is viewed just as it would be over a browser from a personal computer. Little additional effort is required to display data but mobile browsers can typically only support a small subset of the interactivity of a web browser.
- Customized App: A step up from this approach is to render each (or all) reports and dashboards in device-specific format. In other words provide information specific to the screen size, optimize usage of screen real estate, and enable device-specific navigation controls. Examples of these include thumb wheel or thumb button for BlackBerry, up/down/left/right arrows for Palm, gestural manipulation for iPhone. This approach requires more effort than the previous but no additional software.
- Mobile Client App: The most advanced, the client app provides full interactivity with the BI content viewed on the device. In addition, this approach provides periodic caching of data which can be viewed and analyzed even offline.
Companies across all verticals, from retail to even non-profit organizations are realizing the value of purpose-specific mobile applications suited for their mobile workforce.
Development
Developing a native mobile BI app poses challenges, especially concerning data display rendering and user interactivity. Mobile BI App development has traditionally been a time-consuming and expensive effort requiring businesses to justify the investment for the mobile workforce. They do not only require texting and alerts, they need information customized for their line of work which they can interact with and analyze to gain deeper information.Custom-coded Mobile BI Apps
Mobile BI applications are often custom coded apps specific to the underlying mobile operating system. For example, the iPhone apps require coding in Objective-CObjective-C
Objective-C is a reflective, object-oriented programming language that adds Smalltalk-style messaging to the C programming language.Today, it is used primarily on Apple's Mac OS X and iOS: two environments derived from the OpenStep standard, though not compliant with it...
while Android apps require coding in Java. In addition to the user functionality of the app, the app must be coded to work with the supporting server infrastructure required to serve data to the mobile BI app. While custom coded apps offer near limitless options, the specialized software coding expertise and infrastructure can be expensive to development, modify, and maintain.
Fixed-form Mobile BI Applications
Business data can be displayed in a mobile BI client (or web browser) that serves as a user interface to existing BI platforms or other data sources, eliminating the need for new master sources of data and specialized server infrastructure. This option offers fixed and configurable data visualizations such as charts, tables, trends, KPIs, and links, and can usually be deployed quickly using existing data sources. However, the data visualizations are not limitless and cannot always be extended to beyond what is available from the vendor.Graphical Tool-developed Mobile BI Apps
Mobile BI apps can also be developed using the graphical, drag-and-drop development environments of BI platforms. The advantages including the following:- Apps can be developed without coding,
- Apps can be easily modified and maintained using the BI platform change management tools,
- Apps can use any range of data visualizations and not be limited to just a few,
- Apps can incorporate specific business workflows, and
- The BI platform provides the server infrastructure.
Using graphical BI development tools can allow faster mobile BI app development when a custom application is required.
Security Considerations for Mobile BI Apps
High adoption rates and reliance on mobile devices makes safe mobile computing a critical concern. The Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study discovered that security is the number one issue (63%) for organizations.A comprehensive mobile security solution must provide security at these levels:
- Device
- Transmission
- Authorization, Authentication, and Network Security
Device Security
Senior analyst at the Burton Group research firm recommends that the best way to ensure data will not be tampered with is to not store it on the client device (mobile device). As such, there is no local copy to lose if the mobile device is stolen and the data can reside on servers within the data center with access permitted only over the network. Most smartphoneSmartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
manufacturers provide a complete set of security features including full-disk encryption, email encryption, as well as remote management which includes the ability to wipe contents if device is lost or stolen. Also, some devices have embedded third-party antivirus and firewall softwares such as RIM
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
's BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
.
Transmission Security
Transmission security refers to measures that are designed to protect data from unauthorized interception, traffic analysis, and imitative deception. These measures include Secure Sockets LayerTransport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
(SSL), iSeries™ Access for Windows®, and virtual private network (VPN) connections. A secure data transmission should enable the identity of the sender and receiver to be verified by using a cryptographic shared key system as well as protect the data to be modified by a third party when it crosses the network. This can be done using AES
Advanced Encryption Standard process
The Advanced Encryption Standard , the block cipher ratified as a standard by National Institute of Standards and Technology of the United States , was chosen using a process markedly more open and transparent than its predecessor, the aging Data Encryption Standard...
or Triple DES
Triple DES
In cryptography, Triple DES is the common name for the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm block cipher, which applies the Data Encryption Standard cipher algorithm three times to each data block....
with an encrypted SSL
Transport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
tunnel.
Authorization, Authentication, and Network Security
Authorization refers to the act of specifying access rights to control access of information to users. Authentication refers to the act of establishing or confirming the user as true or authentic. Network security refers to all the provisions and policies adopted by the network administrator to prevent and monitor unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or denial of the computer network and network-accessible resources. The mobility adds to unique security challenges. As data is trafficked beyond the enterprise firewall towards un-known territories, ensuring that it is handled safe is of paramount importance. Towards this, proper authentication of user connections, centralized access control (like LDAP Directory), Encrypted data transfer mechanisms can be implemented.Role of BI for Securing Mobile Apps
To ensure high security standards, BI software platforms must extend the authentication options and policy controls to the mobile platform. Business intelligence software platforms need to ensure a secure encrypted keychain for storage of credentials. Administrative control of password policies should allow creation of security profiles for each user and seamless integration with centralized security directories to reduce administration and maintenance of users.Products
A number of BI vendors and niche software vendors offer mobile BI solutions. Some examples include:- Business Objects
- CognosCognosCognos was an Ottawa, Ontario-based company making business intelligence and performance management software. Founded in 1969, at its peak Cognos employed almost 3,500 people and served more than 23,000 customers in over 135 countries.Originally Quasar Systems Limited, it adopted the Cognos...
- DataGlass
- Experion Technologies and eQube-BI
- InetSoftInetSoftInetSoft Technology Corporation is a privately owned multinational computer software company that develops free and commercial web-based business intelligence applications...
- iVEDIX
- MicroStrategyMicroStrategyMicroStrategy, Inc. , is a business intelligence software vendor. MicroStrategy's software enables leading organizations worldwide to analyze the vast amounts of data stored across their enterprises to make more strategic business decisions...
- PushBI
- QlikView
- Quiterian
- Reboard
- Roambi
- SurfBI
- TARGIT Business IntelligenceTARGIT Business IntelligenceTARGIT A/S is a Danish Business Intelligence developer company headquartered in Hjørring, North Jutland, Denmark with a subsidiary, TARGIT US Inc., in Tampa, Florida, USA. TARGIT is Denmark's largest developer of Business Intelligence and the leading Danish business software vendor.- History...
- TransparaTransparaTranspara is an independent developer of Mobile Business Intelligence, operations monitoring, and alerting Software founded in 2005 by Michael Saucier...
- Yellowfin Business IntelligenceYellowfin Business IntelligenceYellowfin is a business intelligence , dashboard, reporting and data analysis software vendor. Yellowfin’s software allows reporting from data stored in relational databases, multi-dimensional cubes or in-memory analytical databases...
See also
- Business IntelligenceBusiness intelligenceBusiness intelligence mainly refers to computer-based techniques used in identifying, extracting, and analyzing business data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments, or by associated costs and incomes....
- Data MiningData miningData mining , a relatively young and interdisciplinary field of computer science is the process of discovering new patterns from large data sets involving methods at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and database systems...
- Online analytical processing or OLAP
- Predictive analyticsPredictive analyticsPredictive analytics encompasses a variety of statistical techniques from modeling, machine learning, data mining and game theory that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future events....
- Dashboards (management information systems)