Key Takeaways:
The business landscape today is dynamic, fast-paced, and challenging. The rapid advancement of mobile technology has turned real-time access to insights and analytics into crucial strategies for businesses looking to stay ahead of the competition. This is where mobile business intelligence (BI) or the ability to access business intelligence on a mobile device comes in.
Where To Go Mobile
There are many areas where applying mobile BI can be extremely beneficial to companies. Here are a few examples:
Sales
Easy and real-time access to customer information, sales data, and product information can make informed decision-making and closing deals simpler and quicker
Operations
Monitoring performance indicators and tracking progress towards key performance indicators (KPIs) even post-office hours can keep processes in check
Finance
Access to financial reports, performance metrics, and forecasts allows teams to monitor financial performance on the go and make informed decisions based on current data
Healthcare
Better patient care can be provided with improved accessibility of patient records, medical data, and analytics
Retail
For product placement and marketing strategies, mobile BI can be used to retrieve inventory data, sales data, and customer analytics
Manufacturing
With mobile BI, production processes and resource allocation becomes easier with production data, quality metrics, and inventory levels at hand
Mobile BI helps businesses be more agile and responsive, leading to improved performance and outcomes. By leveraging mobile BI solutions, companies can transform their operations with real-time data analysis and informed decision-making on-the-fly. However, designing and implementing an effective mobile BI strategy can be a complex process. This comprehensive deep dive into the key steps and best practices that you can fall back on while developing a winning mobile BI strategy that delivers results.
Components of a Mobile BI Strategy
Before delving into how to develop a winning mobile BI strategy, it is important to understand the components that play a significant role in making one.
Architecture:
The mobile BI architecture should be designed to optimize performance, user experience, and data security. It should consider the different types of mobile devices and operating systems that will be used and ensure that the mobile BI application is compatible with all of them. When selecting a mobile device the screen size and resolution are important considerations as they can impact the design and usability of the mobile BI application.
Smartphones have small screens and applications designed for them should be optimized for small screens and have simple and easy-to-use interfaces. Tablets have larger screens compared to smartphones and are commonly used for media consumption, gaming, and web browsing. The increased size of the screen can be utilized to show a greater amount of information and enhance the quality of the user’s interaction. Hybrid devices that combine the functionality of smartphones and tablets provide more flexibility in terms of screen size and can be used for both personal and professional purposes.
The screen size of the device has a big role to play in the architecture of the application. Some common design considerations include:
The architecture should also support real-time data updates and offline access so that users can access data even when they are not connected to the internet.
Security:
Mobile BI applications should be designed with security in mind, to ensure that sensitive data is not compromised. This includes features like user authentication, data encryption, and role-based access control. The security architecture should also include measures to protect against data breaches, such as virtual private network (VPN) support, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, remote wiping capabilities, secure boot and firmware updates, and data backup and recovery processes.
User Roles:
Another important component to be considered while designing mobile BI applications is the different user roles, to ensure that users have access to the data and functionality that they need to perform their jobs. This includes features like dashboards, reports, alerts, and data visualization tools. User roles should be defined based on factors like job function, level of access, and data sensitivity.
By carefully designing and implementing a mobile BI strategy that addresses these key components, organizations can gain valuable insights from their data, improve decision-making, and drive business growth.
5 Key Steps to Develop a Mobile BI Strategy for Transformative Business Insights
Step 1: Define Your Business Objectives
Defining business objectives is crucial to any successful mobile BI strategy. It helps companies stay focused and aligned with their business goals. Before designing a mobile BI strategy, it is essential to delineate and understand what exactly you want to achieve through mobile BI. Are you looking to improve operational efficiency, enhance customer engagement, or gain a competitive advantage? Answering these questions before you embark on the journey of development will give you a clear understanding of your objectives and give you the key performance indicators (KPIs). This, in turn, will help you measure your progress, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions.
At the same time, it’s equally essential to identify the needs of your users. For a mobile BI strategy to be successful, it needs to provide users with the data and insights they need. An in-depth understanding helps you tailor the mobile BI solution to customer expectations.
Step 2: Choose the Right Technology for Mobile BI Solution
With the optimal usage of the right technology, mobile BI solutions can help companies achieve stellar success. There are several technologies available for Mobile BI development, such as native apps, hybrid apps, and web apps. Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of technology should be based on factors like user requirements, security needs, and budget. However, choosing the solution apt for your company may be quite a challenge given that options are many.
Integration into the existing software and hardware landscape is an important consideration when developing a mobile BI solution. It involves integrating the mobile BI app with the existing data sources, databases, and systems in the organization. The solution should – be compatible with the existing systems, have APIs or web services that allow the mobile BI app to connect to the existing systems, be able to connect to the data sources to retrieve required data, not compromise the security of the existing systems, and be scalable.
Another important technological consideration is the UI/UX capabilities rendered on mobile as they play a significant role in how users perceive and interact with the app. Developing these capabilities in close coordination with the intended users is essential to ensure that the app is both functional and user-friendly. To design a good UI/UX for a mobile BI app, developers need to consider screen real estate, navigation, context and environment of usage, performance, and security. Mobile apps should provide feedback to users to ensure that they are aware of what is happening in the app.
While choosing the right technology, also keep in mind that the solution should be customizable, and able to provide real-time data and insights.
Step 3: Create a Data Security Plan
A mobile BI strategy is incomplete without data security. It involves creating a framework for managing data quality, ensuring data accuracy, and establishing rules for data access and use. Creating a data governance plan ensures that your mobile BI solution is based on accurate and reliable data and that sensitive data is protected. Data breaches can lead to significant losses, damage to the company’s reputation, and loss of customer trust. Protecting sensitive data with strict data security measures and protocols is crucial to the development process.
It is also essential to ensure that the mobile BI solution complies with industry standards and regulations for data privacy and security. Advanced security features, such as encryption, role-based access control, and multi-factor authentication add to the credibility of the system.
Surprisingly, 63% of companies do not yet have a budget assigned for data compliance. However, only by investing in data governance upfront, companies can avoid data quality issues and ensure that their mobile BI solution is based on trusted insights.
Step 4: Invest in Training for User Adoption and Ongoing Usage
Implementing a successful mobile BI solution requires a significant investment of time and resources. To ensure that the investment is effective, user training is a step that you cannot miss. Quality training procedures for users on how to use the mobile BI solution effectively is an important determinant for the success of the strategy. A comprehensive training program covers all aspects of the mobile BI solution, including how to:
Effective training, regular updates, encouraging and acting on user feedback, and timely support empowers the users to make informed decisions by helping them understand how to interpret the data and insights provided. It encourages them to increase the adoption and usage of the solution and assists them in using the information to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for growth. By building the capacity of the users, you can ensure that your mobile BI solution is adopted by your team and will deliver the desired results.
Step 5: Continuously Monitor and Improve
A successful mobile BI strategy requires ongoing monitoring and improvement. Companies must regularly review their business objectives, user needs, and mobile BI solutions to ensure that they remain aligned with their business goals.
Bottom-line
There’s no doubt that mobile BI brings transformational change to businesses, enabling them to make faster and better decisions. Keeping these five steps in mind, and taking a holistic and proactive approach, businesses can develop a robust and effective mobile BI strategy that aligns with their business goals and objectives. As the mobile BI landscape continues to evolve, it’s important to stay on top of the latest trends and best practices to optimize the use of this vital tool for businesses of all sizes and industries. By embracing it, companies can drive growth, improve productivity, and deliver better customer experiences.
Not to forget: While mobile BI solutions have emerged as a game-changer for businesses, it’s important to remember that they are but a part of the larger analytics ecosystem. Businesses must still ensure that their solution is integrated with their overall data strategy and that they are using the right tools and technologies to analyze data effectively.
