Consumerization, Apple & BI

Not too long ago, IT professionals usually referred to Apple products as consumer devices. There was a little contempt in that view. At best, Macs were viewed as tools for graphic designers and other “creatives” in the marketing department. At worst, they were viewed as toys. The serious business assets – PCs, software and infrastructure – were all Windows-based.

The iPhone started to change that view. It provided such an obviously superior user experience that many executives – including no-nonsense operations people and bottom-line finance types – naturally gravitated toward it. They started to ask IT leadership, “Why can’t I use my iPhone for work?”

Then came the iPad, another quantum leap forward. Because it does things traditional PCs, netbooks and first-generation tablets can’t do, the iPad created a new category. Yes, it’s being sold as an entertainment device, but is there any doubt that every other hardware vendor on the planet will scramble to imitate the iPad’s interface and form factor? It seems inevitable that business users will embrace it. In fact, it’s not too difficult to envision the day when the iPad and iPhone are as common in the enterprise as the network printer and the Exchange server.

The bottom line is that Apple’s superior user experience has won, and all types of users – including both consumers and professionals – will expect all their interactions with technology to be easier, more powerful and more intuitive.

Business Intelligence applications are no exception. User needs and expectations are becoming more important. Given the past struggles of BI developers and project teams to deliver user-friendly tools, this is a positive change. In the past, user needs were often lost in the shuffle of onerous documentation processes and long development cycles. As with the old “You can have any OS you like as long as it’s Windows” model, IT made decisions about the interface and semantics, and just gave users whatever BI tools could be developed.

Today, BI users expect a lot more. It is no longer enough to provide any set of tools; tools must work the way the users think and help them solve the problems that they need to solve. Agile Business Intelligence delivery, which starts with direct user inputs and offers faster prototyping, makes it easier for developers to meet user needs. Like the iPad, Agile BI is an entirely new category and will profoundly shift how BI applications are developed and consumed. Some in the industry will scramble to embrace the Agile BI concept, but if their software isn’t architected to be agile (e.g, able to extend existing assets and streamline prototyping), they will be perceived as knockoffs. They will be to Agile BI what the Zune was to the iPod and the Nexus One was to the iPhone.

In our view, the rise in user expectations is good news. User-centric BI development pays off for both business and IT. Lower costs and faster development. Increased productivity of project resources. Improved business user satisfaction and higher adoption rates. These benefits are good for everyone.

Now, when you hear IT execs refer to Apple as a consumer device manufacturer, there’s less disdain in their voice. In fact, with the rising tide of consumerization, popular devices like Apple’s may become a much bigger part of IT’s life. The user experience will become a central factor in evaluating all kind of software, especially internal BI applications that are used every day. Expectations for attractive, intuitive interfaces will continue to rise — and that’s another reason why we believe Agile BI’s day has arrived.