Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2019. Read them in this 11th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Glen Rabie, CEO of Yellowfin BI
The Top 3 BI Trends for the New Year
Each year, we see new innovations and products come to
market that enhance the way we work with data. I predict that 2019 will be no
different. In fact, I believe 2019 has the potential to be a revolutionary year
in the BI space. Here are my top three predictions for the new year.
1. The New
Dashboard-Analytics Everywhere
For more
than 30 years, the dashboard has been the delivery paradigm of choice for
decision support and executive information systems. Today, the dashboard still
continues to be the medium of data delivery for many vendors. However, I see
this shifting in the coming year.
We are
already seeing signs that the role of dashboards is changing. Many startup
vendors in the BI space are not bound to dashboards, and some smaller vendors
are looking into innovative methods of delivery for mobile and email. These
vendors realize that users won't need a dashboard to receive an automated
insight.
Rather, I think more vendors will begin to push content to
where the users want and need to access analytics, such as embedding data into
any application that makes sense-like email or a mobile device.
2. The Need and Want for Automation
We're
in the early stages of a dramatic transition for the analytics industry. More
and more of the jobs that were previously done by analysts are being automated,
and technology is changing the way organizations receive information.
Part
of this need for automation is being driven by a skills shortage in analytics.
Currently, there's a huge demand for analytics, but not enough people equipped
with the specific skillset.
Similarly, everyone wants to do more with less. As a result, I predict we'll
see a lot of products coming to the market this next year that feature
automation.
3. The Return of Mobile BI
In the
past, mobile BI has simply replicated the desktop experience. However, we've
found this doesn't work. Most people I talk with use multiple devices and want
different experiences on each device. The way we acquire and access information
on a laptop is different than on a mobile device.
Likewise,
vendors are beginning to think differently about mobile BI as their
understanding of the mobile experience has become more sophisticated. This is
driving vendors to find better solutions for delivering analytics on mobile
devices. Because of this, I predict that mobile will return as the interface of
choice in 2019-but with a different look.
With
this in mind, I also think we'll see the text search interface disappear and be replaced by voice as
vendors rethink mobile delivery. Just as people like the ease of Siri on their
iPhone, we want the efficiency and convenience of voice in the field. No demand
really exists for text-based queries. We see a greater use case for voice, especially
when combined with mobile BI.
We're
already seeing innovation in each of these trends emerging in our industry, and
I think we'll see them takeoff in the coming year. We're constantly thinking of
how we can transform the way we consume analytics, and 2019 is a year to look
forward to in the BI space.
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About the Author
Glen Rabie is the
co-founder and CEO of Yellowfin, an Analytics and Business Intelligence
software company focused on helping businesses understand their data. Rabie
is passionate about data and improving business performance through analytics.
Prior to starting Yellowfin, he worked in various roles at National
Australia Bank including senior e-business consultant and global manager of
employee self-service. Rabie holds a Masters in Commerce from the
University of Melbourne.