Mobilizing Business Intelligence

Business intelligence (BI) is typically the process of
converting data into information and then into knowledge. Organizations gather
information to assess macro level performance such as financial trends,
marketing or competitor analysis, as well as tactical and event driven activity
like threshold alerts.

Before Wireless

A VP of operations is responsible for the domestic, EMEA, and American
operations of a large and publicly traded multinational manufacturer. He is also
a part of an executive committee tasked with evaluating how best to expand into
China. This project is a strategic imperative and the VP is spending significant
time in Asia, as well as at countless local seminars and conferences on the
subject. He is getting ready for another two weeks trip to China to meet
numerous people in both the government and private industries.

His company is part of a highly competitive industry where any
wrong steps can have serious consequences on the street. He has seasoned
operations managers in each location, but is concerned that he is not as
"hands on" as he used to be. In the past, he would make regular visits
to all sites, but as the company expanded, and with the special China
assignment, he has been forced to cut back on these personal visits.

In preparation for his trip, he sends an email to all his first
line managers requesting that he be kept appraised of any critical issues. It is
the last month of the third quarter and the company needs to meet performance
targets. He packs his laptop and cell phone, and a complete set of printed
reports and begins his travels. On the way to the airport he gets a phone call
from his US manufacturing plant telling him they are going to be hard pressed to
make their shipment target, due to some unexpected component supplier delays.
The VP calmly but firmly says, "Missing the schedule is not an
option."

At the airport, he locates a Wi-Fi hotspot and, after paying the
Rs 100 per hour fee, uses his laptop to send one final email to all his managers
reminding them of how critical it is to make their shipping schedules. He also
tells them that he expects to be notified the instant someone thinks this goal
might be in jeopardy. After he sends the email, he disconnects and realizes that
this is a tall order for them to fill. The last time he was in China, he
experienced substantial difficulties in getting conventional email and phone
coverage.

He had even greater difficulties logging on remotely to access
vital performance statistics from the corporate ERP system. He further realizes
that he will need to devote his full time and attention to the Chinese delegates
in all his meetings. He boards the plane with trepidation, worried he will not
be on top of the situation at all times. He can also imagine the mountain of
emails he will have to deal with when he is lucky enough to get access. He hasnt
even taken off yet, and already he is feeling swamped and out of touch.

Capabilities Needed

In addition to standard phone, email, calendar, and messaging functions,
when managers are away from the office, it is vital that they still have access
to key information from back-office BI and ERP applications such as:

• Virtual real-time KPI alerts and escalation

• Six SIGMA scorecards

• Lean scorecards

• Essential P&L information

• News bulletins

• Competitive updates

After Wireless

The VP of operations is getting ready for another two weeks trip to China.
Over the past several months, he has been working with his management team and
the IT group to provide a mobile version of all company Lean and Six Sigma
scorecards, to be accessed from their mobile applications. He packs his mobile
application and begins his travels. On the way to the airport he gets an email
from his US manufacturing plant advising him of unexpected component supplier
delays. The VP sees that the message has been broadcast as a "priority
case" to a special cross-functional team comprising production, supply
chain and procurement. He is confident they will do what it takes to fix the
problem. He also knows that he will automatically be alerted as soon as the
issue is resolved.

At the airport, he scrolls through the scorecards on his mobile
application to see the latest performance figures before he boards. Each
scorecard has predetermined thresholds set to alert him of any deviations from
the plan across every aspect of operations. The last time he made this trip he
was impressed when he automatically received up-to-date performance statistics
from the corporate ERP and BI systems. He knew that unless there was a critical
alert, he would be able to devote all his time and attention to his meetings
with the Chinese delegates. He boards the plane feeling confident and is on top
of the situation, eagerly anticipating his exciting journey.

Back of the Envelope RoI

It is inherently difficult to quantify the savings from improving personal
productivity. Mobile business intelligence will enable better informed and
dynamic decision-making which will increase organizations agility and
responsiveness. Furthermore, the expanded data gathering and visibility will
improve your corporate knowledge base. One critical event resolved in a more
timely fashion may justify the cost and effort many times over.

Ravi Subramanyam

He is CEO of MobileOne, an enterprise
mobile solution vendor