Do You Have the Right Mobile Mindset

Mobile has become a key ingredient in the integration of business and technology. If designed and delivered effectively, it provides unparalleled convenience, speed, and ease of use. However, having the right mobile mindset is a prerequisite if you’re going to drive growth and profitability through the use of mobile solutions.

In its simplest and purest form, I define it this way:

Everyday BI: Typical User Profile

First and foremost, everyday BI usersare data consumers who use technology to drive insight from diverse data sources. In some cases, they generate the source data by their actions, such as accumulating purchases, signing up for subscriptions, or making inquiries. In other instances, they may not have any control over the transactions (like the stock market, weather, or other consumer data) but have an interest in monitoring these trends or developments.

Management Productivity

One thing I do know is that like everything else, management has gotten more complex. First there’s the product technology, and then there’s the infrastructure technology. What we make has gotten more complex (computer controlled, fuel-injected engines, anyone, or microwave ovens?) and the information technology we use to keep track of our operations has gotten more complex as well. And now with more remote and telecommuting employees, basic supervision hasn’t gotten any easier either.

Q&A: Self-Service vs Traditional Business Intelligence

Anyone who knows what this photo depicts? Hint: it’s the father of self-service….

What do you find people misunderstand about self-service BI’s concept?

That it’s a very hard thing to define concretely in terms of technology implementation. The underlying business need is a very broad concept that covers a very wide range of different types of technologies and information uses, and that the distinctions between “reports,” “dashboards”, “data discovery,” etc are blurry — and the need for “business information” covers a lot more than what is stored in traditional databases (documents, external news feeds, etc.)

There’s no truly self-service BI solution.

Interview: Big Data Trends

What are some of the key database trends?

First, the movement to in-memory platforms, as evidenced by everybody trying to catch up with SAP HANA. IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft are all adding in-memory options on top of their existing databases.

Second…

Use Data To Support Arguments, Not Arguments To Support Data

The concept of “better-informed” decisions is distinctly different than the concept of “better” decisions— the former is generally a choice, whereas the latter often results from an action. Better-informed leaders don’t always make better decisions, but better decisions almost always start with better-informed leaders. Business intelligence (BI) can be the framework that enables organizations of all sizes to make faster, better-informed business decisions.

Mobile BI Design Framework: Design Thinking

When we design for mobile business intelligence (BI), we need to apply the mobile mindset to all facets of user interactions, not just what we do when we are online but also what we do offline. In my first blog of the series, I discussed the importance of embracing a mobile design philosophy that will be unique to each of us and the environments we work in.

This is important because our design philosophy will be the guiding light when best practices alone may not be enough to help us navigate in uncharted waters.