Yellowfin to bolster consumer-oriented approach to Mobile Business Intelligence
Global Business Intelligence (BI) vendor, Yellowfin, is set to release a new native application for the iPhone that CEO Glen Rabie says will “significantly” bolster its growing reputation as a leading provider of Mobile BI.
The application, to be officially released in an exclusive media event (Tuesday 3 April Australian EST), is rumored to bring the unique consumer-oriented features and functionality of Yellowfin’s recently released iPad application to the iPhone.
Click here for more details on Yellowfin for the iPad: //www.yellowfinbi.com/YFCommunityNews-Yellowfin-launches-new-iPad-app-redefines-Mobile-BI-109386
“At Yellowfin, we’re always striving to make fact-based decision-making easier, on any platform; no matter where you are,” said Yellowfin CEO, Glen Rabie. “We’re always thinking about how people like to consume and share information – we want to provide our customers with a product they can engage with on a personal and emotional level. User engagement and gratification are our ultimate goals.”
Development driven and inspired by consumer platforms and technologies
Rabie said that the well-documented trend towards user-friendly enterprise products for analytics – the consumerization of BI and enterprise IT at large – proved a major driving force behind Yellowfin’s decision to undertake the project. He also claimed that many enterprise applications and software products lack appeal, and have an enormous amount to learn from their leisure-time equivalents.
“I can’t understand why so many BI vendors seem intent on condemning their users to such an underwhelming experience,” he said. “People like using Twitter, Facebook and sharing their ideas via StumbleUpon or Digg because it’s easy, fun and social. So naturally we’ve combined those same collaborative capabilities and user-oriented navigability to deliver a product that people will genuinely enjoy using.”
Mobile BI represents BI for all, not just a few
Rabie said that the need to design product functionality for data consumers, rather than report writers, was even more paramount in the context of mobile analytics.
“Organizations are beginning to realize the huge potential and benefits of widespread reporting and analytics – more people with access to understandable and actionable data means better decision-making and ROI for BI projects. The continued proliferation of Mobile BI is part of that trend.”
Rabie added that the focus on information consumption, rather than development, was further intensified when using smartphones as the delivery platform for Mobile BI.
“First of all, no one wants to conduct data analysis on a postage stamp – realistically, the screen size just doesn’t support content development. Further, despite the intense interest in tablets for the consumption of corporate data, smartphones still remain the preferred platform for mobile analytics due to practical and financial reasons.
The forgotten importance of the smartphone for Mobile BI
“It’s simple, more people own smartphones than tablets, and more organizations provide smartphones for employees compared to tablet devices. With this truth – and the proliferation of corporate BYOD [Bring Your Own Device] programs – in mind, smartphones – either corporate issue or personal – still represent the most realistic platform for Mobile BI.”
Dresner Advisory Services’ (DAS) latest Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study demonstrates a significant increase in interest in the iPad as a Mobile BI platform. But despite the marked jump in iPad-oriented Mobile BI implementations, the iPhone still remains the most widely used device for Mobile BI, with 70 percent of respondents currently receiving mobile analytics via an iPhone, and a further 18 percent planning to deploy iPhone-based Mobile BI initiatives during 2012.
TechTarget’s 2012 Global IT Priorities Survey supports DAS’ findings. The survey discovered that 34 percent of respondents plan to introduce tablets as part of their corporate IT strategies in 2012, up from 18 percent in last year’s study. Despite the substantial increase in planned tablet-based implementations, 35 percent of respondents still planned to implement smartphone-based initiatives in the next 12 months.
Mobile BI: The new platform for BI
Rabie said that regardless of platform priorities and device preferences, the demand for Mobile BI is set to rise.
“At Yellowfin, we fundamentally believe that advances in both consumer and enterprise mobile technologies, in conjunction with shifting working habits and environments, means that a significant proportion of BI will be consumed via mobile devices.
“We also believe that both consumer-oriented and mobile capabilities hold the key to markedly increased and sustained BI user adoption. And sustained user adoption is the best way to achieve ROI for any BI project.”
Yellowfin offers customers the ability to receive mobile analytics out-of-the-box, on any device or platform, via native applications for the iPhone, iPad, Android platform and new HTML 5 integration.
What is Business Intelligence software?
Business Intelligence (BI) refers to a broad range of computer software applications and tools used to report, analyze and present data in a range of formats, to help businesses identify trends and opportunities, and support fundamental decision-making.
About Yellowfin
Yellowfin is a global Business Intelligence (BI) software vendor headquartered and developed in Melbourne, Australia. Yellowfin is a highly intuitive 100 percent Web-based reporting and analytics solution.
For further media information, interviews, images or product demonstration, please contact:
Lachlan James, Communications Manager on +61 03 9090 0454, 0431 835 658 or lachlan.james@yellowfin.bi
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