Ovum Study: The Market for Mobile Business Intelligence is Maturing

The performance and power of mobile phones, along with the development of the infrastructure has made the business intelligence on mobile phones (which has been called Business intelligence on-the-go) a reality.

Until recently, mobile BI solutions suffer from a lack of technological advances and use cases, even with the growing demand for access to real-time data to support decision making. Now, however, conditions have collided to allow senior executives and managers experience a new reality in the business connection, says Ovum.

In its latest review of the mobile BI landscape, “Solutions Guide: Mobile Business Intelligence” on the status of Mobile BI, Ovum reveals that vendors like MicroStrategy and Information Builder are leading the charge with functional mobile solutions, while giants like SAP have become suppliers of solutions for iOS devices. IBM, Oracle and SAS could join in 2013 attracted by this growing market.

The market research firm says that mobile BI solutions, which in the past have been affected by a lack of use and technological advancement, now allow business line managers adapt to a new reality for easy access to BI information in order to take business decision-making quickly and timely.

Ovum’s report reflects that while all vendors offer full support for the iOS platform, and closely followed by Android, there is a considerable lack of support for Blackberry devices and Windows Phone.

There is no question that the iPad’s success in the consumer market has affected vendors’ go-to-market strategies, the study says. However, to reach a larger audience, companies should consider supporting native/hybrid applications for Android and Windows devices, as both are expected to become increasingly prevalent in the enterprise, especially in emerging markets. Various job consultancies agencies publicized that almost every industry is looking sort of mobile project or mobile angle as well as stand-alone mobile apps.

The research firm expects to see improvement in solutions, including the development of vertical offerings and a continuous wave of acquisitions and mergers. Software manufacturers would offer hand on pre-configured solutions and other development platforms that enable companies to develop applications that are tailored to their specific needs.

Ovum also notes a growing trend towards packaged mobile applications. Manufacturers shall use this model to provide a collection of pre-built applications and offer mobile development platform with which users can easily develop and deploy mobile applications for specific needs and roles.