Oracle Enables iPad Access to Latest BI Apps

The new BI release provides 24/7 access to a range of alerts, ad hoc analyses, dashboards, reporting, "what-if"-type analysis and more.
Talk about a mass enterprise migration to a single new device—to the Apple iPad, naturally.

If you're a software developer, independent or otherwise, and you're not revamping your application to run on the world's most popular tablet PC, then how out of sync are you with the rest of the IT world?

Oracle's certainly not in that category. On May 3 the giant IT software and systems maker announced that its latest Business Intelligence Release (v11.1.1.5) now features support for the iPad. It has supported the iPhone since right after its introduction.

The new BI release provides 24/7 access to a range of alerts, ad hoc analyses, dashboards, reporting, "what-if"-type analysis, and unified relational OLAP and multidimensional OLAP content of Oracle Business Intelligence, Oracle Vice President of Business Intelligence Product Management Paul Rodwick told eWEEK.

"We're seeing a clear market interest in access to BI on the iPad tablet," Rodwick said. "For years, Oracle BI has supported iPhone, and proactively send alerts out to a range of mobile devices. But the form factor of the iPad, the larger geometry and good browser capability all add up.

"Plus, so many of the knowledge workers, sales reps and others are buying them. It all adds up to a lot of interest in having their corporate information and BI data available to go."

The new release also introduces extended support for additional data sources that include Oracle TimesTen In-Memory Database, Oracle OLAP, Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services and SAP Business Information Warehouse (BW), Rodwick said.

Oracle BI applications are prebuilt analytical solutions for Oracle and non-Oracle applications—including SAP. Subject areas include Financial, Human Resources, Procurement and Spend, Projects, Supply Chain and Order Management, Contact Center Telephony, Loyalty, Marketing, Price, Sales, Service, and a range of vertical industries.