Key Requirements for Mobile BI (continued)
This is a continuation of the transcript 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: Business users also want the freedom to explore the information however they want. In terms of drilldown, I think you need to provide the ability to drill anywhere, allow them to search, drill, filter, sort in essence explore the data, the way their mind works. Don’t constrain them with limited drill pads. Allow them the freedom to pursue the insights wherever they are, without having to wait for a new report or a dashboard to be created for them.
Remember the instant-on benefit of the tablet. Mobile BI should provide instant insight to any question the business user has, at the moment they have it. As the world of mobile devices grows or even explodes, users don’t want to be told what device they should have. I think the days of corporations dictating that everybody use the same device are quickly passing by, if not already gone.
Mobile BI: Empowering Users with Device Choice
Users are buying iPads, Android phones. They are rushing out to get the latest touch screen BlackBerry. And they want, and expect, to be able to use them at work. Studies are showing that more and more business users are buying their mobile devices on their own rather than being given them by their employers. In addition many users have multiple mobile devices. They have a tablet. They also have a smartphone and a laptop, and they want to be able to run their business intelligence queries on any device. And even move between devices so that they can access information while they are sitting at their desk perhaps on their laptop, and then move and see that same information on their tablet or smartphone on the go. Give them the freedom to access the information wherever they are and make decisions wherever they are, on whatever device they choose.
And finally in addition to this freedom to ask for information and explore and use any device, business users largely want to know that the business intelligence solution they are using is enterprise proven. They want to have confidence that they are using this solution with strong security and reliability and certainly an IT staff that supports them once the solution to be manageable and scalable certainly as well as secure. I do believe this is a key issue as companies look to roll out mobile business intelligence.
Given the variety of recent concerns over rogue Android apps, corporations are looking at models where they can control distribution of enterprise mobile applications and data without relying on third parties, ensuring that all users are using the same version of a secure, manageable solution. They also want to be sure that if that device is lost or stolen that that corporate data is not at risk now. So mobile users want a mobile BI solution that gives them the freedom to truly make discoveries and decisions wherever they are, while at the same time being secure and enterprise proven.
How an Urban Beekeeping Coop Leverages StyleBI for Mobile BI
An urban beekeeping cooperative manages multiple rooftop and community hives across a city, producing specialty honey and pollination services. To stay on top of hive health, production metrics, and operational logistics, the coop adopted the open source StyleBI platform for mobile BI. By using StyleBI, beekeepers can access real-time dashboards from their smartphones or tablets, monitoring hive temperatures, humidity levels, and activity patterns without returning to a central office. This immediacy allows field teams to detect early signs of stress or disease in bee colonies and take corrective action quickly.
StyleBI enables the coop to integrate diverse data sources seamlessly, from sensor feeds embedded in hives to manual inspections and sales records. Mobile dashboards consolidate this information, giving beekeepers a holistic view of each hive and the overall operation. They can quickly identify which hives are producing the most honey, detect anomalies in brood development, or monitor feeding schedules. The platform’s interactivity allows users to filter by location, species, or seasonal cycle, facilitating targeted interventions that optimize health and yield across the entire urban apiary network.
Inventory management and delivery planning are also enhanced through StyleBI’s mobile capabilities. Honey batches can be tracked from individual hives to storage and distribution points, ensuring freshness and traceability for customers. Mobile BI dashboards display stock levels, sales trends, and pending orders in real time, enabling cooperative managers to allocate resources efficiently, schedule deliveries, and adjust production plans dynamically. This integration of field operations with sales and logistics improves revenue predictability and reduces waste.
Finally, the coop benefits from the collaborative and self-service nature of StyleBI. Field staff, hive inspectors, and managers can create custom reports or ad hoc visualizations without extensive IT support, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making. Strategic dashboards summarize seasonal performance, identify high-demand products, and highlight opportunities for new hive placements or community partnerships. By leveraging open source StyleBI for mobile BI, the urban beekeeping cooperative transforms a highly dispersed, hands-on operation into an efficient, responsive, and insights-driven enterprise.