Updated BI4Web Introduces Mobile BI Features
New Web-based BI suite supports most widely used mobile platforms.
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To meet the needs of mobility and portability for business management solutions, RCM Software has updated its popular Web-based business intelligence tool, BI4Web 13.0. Among the improvements, the RCM suite now provides users with total mobility, allowing a BI project to be accessed from any device regardless of the browser and operating system used.
"We have carried out a thorough technological transformation of the BI4Web Viewer tool, which provides the end user interface. Once installed on the company Web applications server, it remains accessible and without limit to the number of users and can transfer all the functionalities of the new BI4Web 13.0 to customers, suppliers, shareholders, investors, and distributors without additional cost," says José Garrido, director of business development at RCM Software.
The technological change is based on the development technologies used in mobile devices, MVC (Model View Controller) and Responsive Web, allowing the same business intelligence project to be accessed from any device using any browser or operating system, including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 8. Whatever the device used to access the data -- a tablet, smartphone, smart TV, or PC -- no software installation is required because it is 100 percent Web based.
The company has applied the latest technological standards and advanced development techniques to minimize data transfer. "The necessary technology has been applied so that when querying data through mobile devices, charges are kept to a minimum", says Garrido.
Improved User Experience
Data transfer to devices with BI4Web 13.0 has fallen markedly since the RCM Software development team changed the data representation technology with the adoption of MVC. "Previously we implemented ASP.Net Web Forms which use a completely different design pattern. MVC acts primarily by reducing stacks (work piles), while we have simplified the rendering model thus improving performance throughout the process, even achieving a performance improvement until 20 times faster compared with previous versions" says Garrido, also pointing out how this has helped optimize system maintenance.
Another factor that improves user experience, both at a technological and an aesthetic and functional level, is the result of the development and improvement of a “smart client.”
Incorporating the “Responsive Design” technique allows the user to enjoy a consistent user experience with each device and guarantees the user a positive tactile experience, applying the standards recommended by Microsoft, Google, and Apple in the development of mobile applications. Modifications have also been made to the pictograph of intuitive icons, making the interactivity with information more intuitive.
Optimized Data Display
Earlier versions of the BI4Web Business Intelligence tool used a pyramidal navigation system, OLAP analysis capabilities (without the need for a data warehouse), and functionalities to help decision-making through analysis of data from all departments of the company, regardless of the database that contains them.
The BI4Web suite allows the incorporation of vector images in SVG format, from any map, factory, or warehouse plan, etc. where different indicators can be placed to show activity (such as stock control seen on warehouse shelves, level of machine activity, company floor plans).
BI4Web, unlike traditional BI systems, provides all its presentation models under the same product license, thereby giving priority to the most suitable model of representation without being subjected to cost issues.
BI4Web is a comprehensive BI analysis tool based on Web architecture and focused 100 percent on mobility. It includes two key components.
BI4Web Viewer, developed as a Web viewing environment and aimed at the end user, allows the visualization and interaction with the entire value chain of the business using dashboards and analysis documents that incorporate a BI project on any platform regardless of operating system.
BI4Web Studio is a BI solutions development environment that enables the creation of dashboards and analysis and reporting documents in a fast and intuitive way.
More information is available at www.bi4web.com.