Integrating Data From Multiple Source Systems
This is a continuation of the transcipt of a webinar hosted by InetSoft. The speaker is Mark Flaherty, CMO at InetSoft, and he discusses the topic “The Advantages of Mobile Business Intelligence".
Mark Flaherty: So as use of mobile BI devices gravitates more towards employees out in the field, it's only natural that a significant part of the information needed by those employees is going to be customer related. So what orders does a customer place, what's their invoice history, what's their payment history, what trouble particularly could be raised and so on.It used to be the case that relevant information was poured into a single-data warehouse or data mart.
That makes it much more likely overall that employees are going to be able to find the data when they need it. Now instead of building and maintaining that data warehouse or that data marts, data is likely to be pulled from a number of different source systems and mashed up on the fly.
And to do that efficiently and refresh the data in a timely way, data integration tools can help. And again you can see that the best performing organizations are more likely to have integration available.
Data Integration Challenges
One of the challenges with integration is when data is pulled from multiple source systems it can often be difficult to produce a clear picture because the source data is inconsistent or dirty. For example, imagine that I had a series of problems with my computer at home. I might log multiple trouble tickets via email, via chat, via phone calls for example, but “Mark” might sometime prerecord it as “Marc” and there are different ways to spell “Flaherty”, and there are certainly many very creative ways to mangle the spelling of “Metuchen” the town I live in.
In this way, through poor quality data entry, you can apparently end up with multiple Mark Flahertys living in “Metuchen”. Are they in reality just one person? Well most likely they are, so data cleansing software can help reconcile different spellings of names, addresses, and all kinds of variations on company names too. So data cleansing can be a very key part of creating a single version of the truth varies such as customer databases. Securities however we found best-in-class performance as well certainly exceeded other organizations too.
Now, one of the fundamental problems here is that mobility increases enterprise complexity and complexity increases risk. Aberdeen’s research has shown that organizations are actually keeping desktops and laptops for longer - about a three year replacement cycle and that’s growing - but the average replacement cycle for smartphone is 18 months and shrinking. So the constant churn in mobile device is going to make it hard for corporate IT to keep pace with imposing appropriate security and management policies on those mobile devices.
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Security and Management of Mobile Devices
Now, part of the problem is that most of these devices (the exception really being the BlackBerry) are really conceived as consumer devices where rock solid security just isn’t requirement. So basic level of security we might expect is User Authentication which is shown by the top bars here, basic user name and password protection that’s used to authenticate a user getting access to corporate assets and just assume where we logged on when we sit down at the computer in the office.
InetSoft’s Style Intelligence (StyleBI) platform prioritizes robust security measures to ensure safe access to data from mobile devices, addressing the growing concerns of organizations adopting mobile business intelligence (BI). StyleBI employs a granular, multi-layered security model that applies permissions at the user, dashboard, and data levels, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected whether accessed via iOS or Android devices. By integrating with enterprise-grade authentication systems like LDAP and SSO, StyleBI ensures that only authorized users can access dashboards, while features like data encryption and secure API connections safeguard data in transit and at rest, mitigating risks associated with lost or stolen devices.
To enhance mobile device security, StyleBI leverages a zero-client, web-based architecture that eliminates the need for local data storage on devices, reducing the risk of data breaches. The platform’s native mobile apps for iOS and Android support interactive filtering and real-time data access over secure VPN connections, ensuring encrypted communication between the device and the server. Additionally, StyleBI’s role-based access controls allow administrators to define precise permissions, restricting access to specific datasets or dashboard components based on user roles, such as limiting a field worker’s access to operational metrics while granting executives broader insights. This approach ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR and minimizes vulnerabilities in dynamic environments where employees use personal or corporate devices.
InetSoft also provides real-time monitoring and auditing capabilities to further secure mobile data access. Administrators can track user activity, detect anomalous access patterns, and trigger alerts for potential security incidents, such as repeated failed login attempts from a mobile device. The platform’s integration with enterprise mobility management (EMM) solutions allows organizations to enforce policies like remote wipe or device lock in case of loss or theft, ensuring no sensitive data remains accessible. By combining these security features with a user-friendly interface, StyleBI empowers organizations to confidently deploy mobile BI, enabling secure, on-the-go data access while maintaining a robust defense against unauthorized access and cyber threats.
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