Nearly a quarter has passed since we brought you our analysis on the iPad’s influence on mobile BI. Several of the topics we covered in this post have become reality – a free Spotfire iPad app, true business need for iPads and/or tablets and Bring Your Own Technology initiatives.
Today, Apple is expected to announce the iPad 2, and we are quite excited about it. With the expected enhancements and the Spotfire iPad app, it’s going to be even easier for you to create, publish and share highly visual dashboards.
In related iPad news, SearchCIO-Midmarket.com (@CIOMidmarket on Twitter) ranked Spotfire’s app as one of the top 10 free best business iPad apps. Our app is not only free, it empowers everyone on your mobile team with business knowledge to ask and answer questions – from anywhere.
Get Information When It Matters Most
The beauty of a tablet such as iPad 1 or 2 is that you receive information on the fly, when it matters most. As the SearchCIO article pointed out, “you can share reports via publishing on the Web or exporting via PDF with one touch.” They also praised the expansiveness of the Spotfire iPad app because “you can drill down into a full-blown analysis or run a predictive analysis on its handy dashboard without remembering complex formulas.”
iPad 2 – Moving Us One Step Closer to Truly Mobile BI
Set to be even handier, the much-anticipated iPad 2 is rumored to be designed with a multimode chip (faster processing and better multi-tasking), a front-facing camera and the Apple Facetime video chat (currently available only on iPhones 4) and broader 3G network access (GSM and CDMA-based networks around the world). With nearly 15 million iPads currently on the market, these improvements are making the mobile office even more of a reality.
And, with truly mobile BI from Spotfire, your business decisions can be enhanced with the expected iPad upgrades. As we reported back in November, we feel the iPad’s influence on mobile BI gives companies the opportunity to interact or “pass around” BI data in a format that is digestible for the executive team.
How to Use the iPad and Spotfire for Better Meetings
We see the improvements coming in iPad 2 as groundbreaking. Collaboration and decision-making go to a much higher level with the predicted display enhancements and the Facetime addition.
We can see a whole new meeting scenario taking place via the iPad – sharing predictive analysis in clear visualizations in real-time instead of having to take screenshots to make the PowerPoint and find a projector. This is already possible with the combination of two of SearchCIO Midmarket’s top 10 free apps – Spotfire and Cisco’s WebEx (virtual meeting software). Now, you can truly have a mobile meeting anywhere in the world and show real-time data via your iPad 2. The Facetime app will aid the one-to-one conversations.
iPad 2 and Spotfire takeaways:
- Enhanced communication on the iPad make Spotfire visualizations an integral part of the informed decision process.
- Reach insights faster (on a train, in a boat or on a plane) and easier via your Spotfire app and deliver a competitive advantage to your company when crucial decisions are on the line.
- Give all end-users (sales, management, front-line employees) access to data that will help them make better decisions in and out of the office.
Amanda Brandon
Spotfire Blogging Team
