3 Tips for Delivering Mobile BI to Your Company

Author: Linda Rosencrance
Spotfire Blogging Team

Author: Linda Rosencrance
Spotfire Blogging Team

It may not surprise you that BI is a top of mind technology for many CTOs, but did you know that goes for CFOs as well? A new Gartner survey reveals that 65% of CFOs ranked business intelligence as the technology in highest demand. One driving force behind this demand is the fact that today’s knowledge workers can now access data and information themselves via collaborative,  cloud based and mobile BI solutions. These workers are into self service and aren’t waiting around for a corporate sign off.

So as an enterprise or SMB executive how do you manage the madness while simultaneously empowering your workers to capitalize on innovative BI solutions? In upcoming blog posts and webcasts, we’ll tackle empowering your team with collaborative,  cloud-based solutions. For now, here are three tips from Information Management on how best to roll out mobile BI.

1) Pay attention to mobile BI security concerns. The top concern in mobile BI adoption is security, and if it’s not designed correctly, it can really be an issue. So use the handset/device security features to protect the data, including features like full-disk encryption, the ability to remotely wipe content on the device, and antivirus and firewall software. Additionally, the security features of cryptographic shared key systems, secure socket layers and VPNs means the data can be secured at the network layer.

2) Roll out mobile BI only to the users who need it. Understand who needs 24/7 access to information and what decisions will be affected by having or not having access to that information.

3) Keep in mind that only certain devices are good for your mobile BI app. The enterprise must select a device very carefully. The devices you select will affect the design of mobile BI 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 has to take into consideration the fact that there is no standard mobile device by constantly testing devices for the mobile BI apps. Follow these best practices: A smartphone is a good candidate for operational mobile BI but tablets are the best options for analytics and what-if analysis. Remember the selection or availability of the device plays a big role in the implementation.

For the rest of the story, check out seven additional tips on Mobile BI delivery and register for the upcoming “Cloud Analytics Designed for the Consumer” on August 2 at 8 a.m. Eastern.

Linda Rosencrance
Spotfire Blogging Team