NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - March 1, 2011) - Information Builders, an independent leader in business intelligence (BI) solutions, today launched WebFOCUS Mobile BI, which delivers mobile business analytics to any device, mobile application, and browser. By enhancing WebFOCUS Active Technology reports to work across all smartphones, such as the iPhone, Android-based phones, BlackBerry, and all tablets such as the iPad and the Droid tablet, Information Builders has significantly reduced the cost of development and support for mobile enterprise users.
Active Technology reports allow users to create reports, dashboards, and web applications that easily work across all mobile platforms and web browsers. This is especially critical to enterprises creating outward-facing applications where the location, device, and browser of the recipients are unknown. The new offering also supports the native gesturing capabilities of iPhone, iPad, Droid, and Droid tablets.
How it Works
Active Technology reports allow users to manipulate and analyze business information on mobile devices, disconnected or online, and come with an automatically embedded analytics engine. Moreover, they can do this without requiring an individual license or a separate mobile server like many other mobile BI solutions.
New enhancements to Active Technology reports provide a device-specific user experience on the iPad, iPhone, and Droid phones and tablets, including native menus, controls, and HTML5 charting. They also support the common gestures of the native platform. With Active Technology reports' chart engine, users can create charts from the data on the mobile devices rather than simply viewing pre-built charts. The innovative user interface (UI) makes it easier to create them on smaller phone screens.
Also, with the automatic device detection feature, the UI dynamically changes to conform to any mobile device screen and any browser (for example: Safari, BlackBerry, and Opera) or other non-mobile browsers. By implementing this automatic device detection into Active Technology reports, Information Builders has helped eliminate the development effort required when the BI content needs to be built in a special way on each device.
High Praise and Recognition
According to Dresner Advisory Services' Updated Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study1, which was published this month, the industry is currently undergoing "a fundamental 'paradigm shift' for business intelligence." Out of 20 vendors, Dresner ranked Information Builders at the top (along with Actuate and SAP), based on mobile platform support, level of platform integration, and numbers of BI features supported.
"Our mobile BI strategy is centered on providing users with the most functional and relevant options to meet their mobile device preference," said Gerald Cohen, CEO and president of Information Builders. "Unlike the competition, our mobile solution not only allows a business professional to view his data in transit, but to manipulate and analyze it as well."
"Access to data while in the field is very important to our city's public safety officials," said Eric Matthews, deputy CIO for the City of Richardson, Texas. "Accessing WebFOCUS reports on their BlackBerry, officers can obtain information about the criminals being held in the city's jail, drill down to the details of each person's incarceration, and understand the crimes of which they are being held. Having this type of data not only on the police vehicle's computer, but also at the officer's side on his or her BlackBerry is critical."
Information Builders new version of Active Technology reports will be available in early Q2.
About Information Builders
Information Builders provides software and services that bring smarter decision-making and streamlined processes to leading organizations in business, government, and education worldwide. The company's software is installed in tens of thousands of locations, servicing millions of users. Its WebFOCUS business intelligence (BI) platform delivers massively scalable information applications, analytics, and customer-facing portals to the new generation of information users to deliver game-changing business results. Its iWay Software integration platform allows enterprises to leverage all of their information resources to streamline internal and business-to-business processes while escalating the overall accessibility and integrity of information regardless of environmental complexity. Headquartered in New York City with 60 offices worldwide, the company employs 1,350 people and has established significant industry partnerships. Visit Information Builders at informationbuilders.com. For ongoing news, go to informationbuilders.com/new or follow Information Builders at @infobldrs.
1. Dresner, Howard; "Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study," October 2010,
http://www.mobile-bi-study.com/ -- Dresner Advisory Services, LLC.
Contact Information:
Press Contacts
Kathleen Moran
Information Builders
(917) 339-6313
kathleen_moran@ibi.com
Kate Finigan
LEWIS PR
(617) 226-8846
informationbuilders@lewispr.com