In pursuit of informed decision-making, should employees be bound to their desktops to access reports and dashboards? Or should field workers make hit-or-miss decisions just because they do not have relevant figures at hand? No, they shouldn’t! With mobile business intelligence, relevant reports and dashboards will be available whenever and wherever they are needed.
The topic of mobile BI is not new but still emerging. Business Application Research Center’s survey of top business intelligence trends for 2017 showed that 2,800 respondents assessed mobile BI as much as 5.8 out of 10 on the “Importance” scale (the results for 2016 were identical). Such a high assessment proves that companies consider mobile BI among their priorities.
Besides, the number of smartphones and tablets is constantly increasing. Pew Research Center shares the following statistics: 51% of US adults use tablets and 77% – smartphones. These figures prove that these devices have become an indispensable part of our lives. What’s more, the prices of smartphones and tablets have become more affordable, which means lower investments to equip the team with BI-enabled devices.
Here are just a few recommendations based on our BI consulting practice. They are not exhausting, and this list of those who need BI mobile solutions can be extended with other industries and job titles.
C-suite. In every industry, it’s top managers who are main decision-makers. However, they are always on the go: their job implies many off-site meetings and business trips. With mobile BI tools, executives can always stay up-to-date and operate real-time figures during important negotiations.
Healthcare providers. Armed with a tablet, a telehealth director can immediately reach analytical data about the existing service, explore the revenues, expenses, ROI, patient segmentation, etc., and identify the need either to modify the offering or to launch a relevant promotional activity.
Retail territory managers can check performance indicators of every store and sales team directly during a store check and discuss them in detail with the store manager. Besides, territory managers can watch over out-of-stocks, volume of goods left after promotions, etc. and advise on the measures to solve the problem, if any.
Manufacturing quality inspectors. With the BI information available on tablets, quality assurance inspectors gain mobility and can access all the data by assembly lines, which increases overall efficiency and productivity.
