The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the purpose as “the reason why something is done or used: the aim or intention of something.” Although the reasons for a mobile BI project may appear obvious on the surface, a re-evaluation of the initial assumptions can often prove to be invaluable both for the design and longevity of mobile projects.
Here are a few points to keep in mind before you schedule your first meeting or lay down a single line of code.
By Timo Elliott, from: : http://timoelliott.com/blog/2013/07/no-analytics-welcome-to-the-hippo.html
I was a two-year varsity football letterman playing a defense linebacker at Cornell University. I relate my experiences on the field to experiences on the job. The professional and college football championships will conclude with the number one team at the end of the season. That team will have demonstrated determination, perseverance, and grit to win. It is not much different with organizations striving to improve their performance. They have no “could’ve” or “should’ve” in their vocabulary; instead, they focus on “must have.”
As a kid, I enjoyed reading comic books and watching animated television series about superheroes. Among my favorites were Spider-Man, Batman, Thor, Iron Man, and the X-Men. Which is why, as a adult, I enjoy the super advancements in cinematic technology that not only powers (mostly) live-action superhero movies, but has also propelled them into mainstream culture.
Since my family likes to take a day off from cooking on Fridays, we recently visited the deli of our favorite organic grocery store. At the take-out bar, I noticed an unusually long line of people under a large sign reading, “In-House Made Wing Buckets. All You Can Fill. On Sale for $4.99, Regular $9.99.” Well, I love wings and couldn’t resist the temptation to get a few.
The opportunity was to add wings (one of my favorite appetizers) to my dinner. But instead of using the special wings bucket, I chose the regular salad bar container, which was priced at $8.99 per pound regardless of the contents. I reasoned that the regular container was an easier-to-use option (shaped like a plate) and a cheaper option (since I was buying only a few wings). My assumptions about the best container to use led to a split-second decision—I “blinked” instead of “thinking twice.”
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.
In manufacturing there is a constant flux of change based on outside factors. These factors may affect the ability to purchase raw materials, schedule manufacturing activities or even workforce availability, to name a few. Capturing data based on these situations can be difficult. Today, collaborative note fields within a BI tool, the organization of unstructured data and the addition of outside and readily available intelligence provides the analyst guidance in her goal to make a decision.
Do you have all three layers of mobile BI security covered: device, app, and data? All of the convenience and benefits of mobile devices provide a particular security risk, complicating matters for the technology managers. When we think about the three layers of security in mobile BI, each layer plays an equally important role. Moreover, each layer represents a specific component of a user’s access profile. Therefore, it’s vital not only to understand how each layer completes the security picture, but also to make sure they work in tandem.
As businesses begin to realize the benefits of cloud computing and business data mobility, they may be overlooking one of the most important issues any enterprise can face: information management in the event of litigation. While the IT department probably has a disaster recovery plan for handling various computer system failures, is there also a…
If you have not witnessed the deluge of big data and business analytics media coverage to date, then welcome back from the coma you were apparently in for the last couple of years. For the rest of you, perhaps you have the same nagging question that I have: Are big data and business analytics such a big deal that if our organization is late to the party in deploying them, we will never catch up to our competitors?