The arrivals of high performance mobile devices and robust data-carrying infrastructures have helped push mobile BI forward.
Analysts at Ovum say that Mobile BI solutions have suffered from a lack of technological advancement but with mobile technologies rapidly developing businesses can now have access to BI information anywhere and at anytime.
Senior executives and business managers are now able to experience a "connected" business reality which can help produce efficiency by allowing them to make quick business decisions.
Ovum says that midsized vendors are paving the way with feature-rich mobile solutions while large BI vendors like SAP have emerged as a top solution for iOS devices.
A report by Ovum, however, found a lack of support for Blackberry (50%) and Windows devices (33%).
All BI vendors were found to support the iOS platform and most support Android (90%).
"There is no question that the iPad's success in the consumer market has affected vendors' go-to-market strategies," says Fredrik Tunvall, analyst at Ovum. "However, to reach a larger audience, they 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."
Ovum says that SAP is leading the way with its mobile-first mindset and recent acquisitions of Syclo and Sybase but predicts that IBM, Oracle and SAS may soon be making moves to take some of the market share.
Tunvall predicts that these companies have the technology necessary to quickly improve their offering this year.
"We expect BI vendors to enhance their mobile capabilities through in-house development and a continued wave of M&A activity," added Tunvall. "This will also be where we will see some of the most interesting and innovative developments in BI and analytics over the next few years."
