What if you could access the business information and systems you need via mobile devices, while you are not physically in the office? The result is increased productivity with fewer location-based restrictions. It is a trend taking off rapidly beyond e-mail to other applications, including key information gleaned from performance management systems.

The consumerization of business information

Mobile business information naturally blends with other ubiquitous mobile applications, such as e-mail. The mobile device is now a place where you can consume relevant information about your business, such as the business intelligence dashboards, scorecards, analysis and reports that you traditionally only saw while at the office.

The mobile device is the perfect platform to deliver information that users would access a daily basis at their desk, but need wherever they are. Those users might be executives looking for their daily dashboard of sales results, mobile field technicians who are logging their deliveries to-the-minute, healthcare workers pinpointing the location of life-saving medical equipment or baggage handlers tracking important cargo. Mobile access to key performance information increases productivity by putting core business information directly in the hands of the user, driving quicker, better decisions regardless of location. Developers are taking existing applications and essentially making them available in a mobile environment, thereby reducing training time needed because almost everyone has a cell phone and knows how to use it.

This mobile "business intelligence" is also a step towards "location intelligence," which can contribute the additional element of "where you are" to the application, giving mobile access a new type of business value. For example, police officers could get updated intelligence regarding outstanding warrants while moving through their jurisdictions. The location information would help law enforcement officers increase productivity real-time, while also providing corresponding safety benefits.

With work no longer a "place" where you receive pertinent business information and remain productive, the trend towards a larger mobile or remote workforce is even more of a reality. Advances in mobile-accessible technology, from more sophisticated devices with increased processing power to business intelligence software, will enable a more productive workforce by pushing the boundaries of what can be accomplished "on-the-go." No longer does location mean restricted access. With more user-friendly applications and evolving platforms, the sky's the limit. And mobile devices fit into your pocket much easier than desktops and laptops.

Don Campbell is Chief Technology Officer, Business Intelligence and Performance Management at IBM.