Mobile business intelligence solutions are crucial as workforce mobility has increased exponentially, and while the rate of increase may slow somewhat, it will continue to grow. More organizations than ever have recognized the necessity of making timely information easily accessible to their mobile business intelligence stakeholders.
In fact, doing so has become a key component in an organization’s ability to make better business decisions. Mobile business intelligence tools help them do that.
What is Mobile Business Intelligence?
Traditional business intelligence software, designed for use with desktop computers, makes the assumption that people who are accessing the information are in the office, connected to their corporate network, have direct access to the company’s mobile business intelligence server, and so forth.
With the recent changes in the hybrid workplace model, how we work out of an office has changed a lot. People no longer prefer to come into the office when they can be more productive working from elsewhere and save time and money when commuting. however, these employees still need to connect to an office network and it is important to provide mobile software solutions to maintain collaboration between employees. This is where mobile business intelligence comes to save the day.
Mobile business intelligence software is a suite of analytics tools that address the same flow of information as business intelligence (account details, inventory status, current data about supply and demand, sales figures, etc.), but it is designed for use with mobile devices to access the mobile business intelligence solution.
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Why is Mobile Business Intelligence Important?
Mobile business intelligence is important not only because it empowers stakeholders with real-time big data that can help your organization succeed, but because going mobile business intelligence—almost completely—is on the horizon. Younger generations of workers are more prone to use mobile devices in place of their desktop computers. Even when a desktop or laptop computer is available, millennials often reach for their tablet hence, the most likely medium to use mobile business intelligence solutions.
Mobile business intelligence is the direction of the future, and the sooner your organization implements mobile business intelligence use, the more prepared it will be for the transition.
What Does Mobile Business Intelligence Offer?
Of course, it might not feel good to be strong-armed into implementing a new mobile business intelligence solution simply because “this is the way it’s going to be in the future.” Thankfully, that’s not the situation with mobile business intelligence.
Mobile business intelligence tools offer your company numerous benefits in the here and now:
Increased Employee Productivity with Mobile Business Intelligence
If your employees don’t have quick access to the information required for them to make the best decision possible, they’re simply unable to meet the standards of efficiency and productivity of employees who do have that mobile business intelligence access. Your employees may be doing okay without mobile business intelligence, but that doesn’t mean they’re working at their full potential. BI mobility and cloud BI tools support data and employee needs best for remote offices as well.
Incorporating mobile business intelligence can help your employees optimize their performance, leading to higher productivity.
Higher Customer Satisfaction with Mobile Business Intelligence
Mobile business intelligence can help your organization achieve true 24/7 attentiveness to its customers. While you may have always had someone available around the clock, you probably don’t keep your offices staffed 24/7, and if the person on call can’t access the information a customer needs, frustration ensues.
Mobile business intelligence improves your employees’ ability to solve your customer’s problems and issues, and that means higher customer satisfaction.
Improvements in Collaboration with Mobile Business Intelligence
As business becomes more mobile, long-distance collaboration has become more common, and it’s not always a collaboration between an employee at the office and one on the road. In fact, it may be between two traveling employees or two work-from-home employees.
Mobile business intelligence is a huge improvement when it comes to tools for sharing information over distance—which results in more successful collaboration.
Increased Flexibility and Agility in Unforeseen Situations with Mobile Business Intelligence
We can’t see every potential crisis before it happens, just like we can’t predict every opportunity before it happens. What does matter is being able to react quickly and with all of the necessary information when using mobile business intelligence. What if a crisis occurs when no one is at the office? What if opportunity knocks, and no one is there to answer it? With mobile business intelligence, you’re able to respond as events unfold, instead of simply reacting afterward. You can even create stunning and useful BI data visualizations to guide decisions and work proactively.
How Can You Use Mobile Business Intelligence Effectively?
The most important thing is to find the right mobile business intelligence software for your company. There are third-party guides that help you compare mobile business intelligence products from different vendors so that you can narrow your list down, like this mobile Business Intelligence Buyer’s Guide.
Consider the following issues when you’re choosing a mobile business intelligence platform:
- Will you be providing mobile business intelligence devices or expecting employees to bring their own (an increasingly common occurrence) or offering them a choice?
- If you’re letting employees bring their own devices to use your mobile business intelligence platform, you’ll probably need a cross-platform mobile business intelligence software option—not everyone is likely to have an Android or an Apple device.
- What information is most important to have in real-time using a mobile business intelligence solution?
How many customers/IT support do you expect to need when taking this new mobile business intelligence tool to live, or throughout its use? - When you can answer all of these questions, you’re well on your way to choosing a mobile business intelligence tool that your organization can use effectively.
If you need more help selecting the best mobile business intelligence software vendor for your business, consult with our Business intelligence buyer's guide for more assistance. You can use our business intelligence software ranking charts to compare the top mobile business intelligence software providers available on the market.
