Visual KPI Operations Monitoring Software Delivers Data to Users from Any Web-Enabled Mobile Device
Transpara Corporation, a leading provider of mobile business intelligence (BI) software, today announced support for the Apple® iPad. Compatible with any browser and smartphone, Visual KPI now provides iPad users with on-demand operations and business data via their choice of the native Safari browser or a free iPad app. Tailored to fit the iPad screen and built on the familiar platform of Microsoft Windows Server, SQL Server and Excel, Visual KPI operations monitoring software delivers information in context and from multiple data sources, enabling timely decision making from any location.
“Transpara continues to stay ahead of the market with support for over 400 mobile devices, including most smartphones, web browsers and now tablet devices like the iPad,” said Michael Saucier, CEO of Transpara. “Visual KPI is browser-agnostic and does not require any software to be installed on the iPad. This makes it a perfect fit for customers who want to extend the power of their existing data and systems to users relying on a variety of mobile devices to do their jobs.”
Visual KPI is the only operations monitoring solution purpose-built for delivering data to users on any smartphone – including iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Windows Phone platforms – or PC without any additional programming. Transpara’s web-based mobile BI software aggregates operations, process and business information from any data source, providing customers with instant access to their most important KPIs, scorecards, trends and alerts. By helping users throughout the organization to monitor their processes and asset base in real-time, Visual KPI improves performance, reduces operating costs and lowers business risk.
About Transpara Corporation Transpara delivers Visual KPI, mobile business intelligence (BI) and monitoring software that provides customers in the process and utility industries with role-based, actionable key performance indicators (KPIs) on any web browser. Visual KPI presents operating information from multiple data sources to users in context and on-demand, enabling timely, informed decision making from any location. By helping users throughout the organization to monitor their asset base, Visual KPI improves performance, reduces operating costs and lowers business risk. Visit www.transpara.com for more information.
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Transpara is a registered trademark of Transpara Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
All workers, no matter what role they play in an organization are now expecting to be able to get access to corporate systems from their smartphones to make decisions and to help them do their jobs better. It has indeed gone from being a nice to have to the more urgent level of “gimme!” and “must have, now!” Gone are the days when checking critical systems in all types of discrete or process manufacturing systems, data operations and financial systems meant getting out of bed at night when there was a problem and going to the office or plant to check in. The expectations have changed because the number of smartphones and all other web-capable devices (e.g. iPad, tablet PCs, iPod Touch, flat screen TVs, etc.) has grown so large that almost every decision maker has access to one. Whether it is a personal device or a corporate-issued device is irrelevant.
(I am still wondering exactly why my 12yr old wants the latest Android device with a full data plan, but that’s another subject)
So this begs the question, “Why not give workers access to their most important data to help them do their jobs?” Well, ahead of this potentially contentious corporate decision to provide the access, is the research and comparison of current best practices for delivering any kind of data to a mobile device.
We thought you might like to hear what questions have come up most often from people just like you, who are looking to leverage their existing investment in data systems and find a solution to mobilizing it.
To date, here are the 10 most popular queries:
Is my data secure if I deliver it to a mobile device? How?
What types of data are most beneficial to mobile users?
What will my operational data look like on a small device?
How long does it take to implement a Mobile BI project with my current data?
Do we have to create a new data source or can we leverage our existing ones?
Can I only view simple data, or can I perform lightweight analytics?
Do I need to run software on my devices, and which ones are supported? Blackberry, iPhone/iPad, Android, Windows Phone, others?
How much coding needs to be done during implementation, and must we do it again when we need to make changes?
How much time and/or money will a Mobile BI system save my company?
What are best practices for deploying operational data to smartphones?
As always, we would like to hear from you, and over the coming weeks, we will post some answers to these questions and possibly even more questions. Feel free to send us your own.
Look out – we’re stepping up the volume over here when it comes to video. Here’s the second one this week.
This video is an overview of the various mobile BI screens that are available in Visual KPI for the end user. They are all shown in both a standard web browser and on a mobile device (Windows Phone in this case, but it will work on almost any smart device like Blackberry, iPhone, iPad, Android, etc.).
If you want additional details on the screens, visit the Visual KPI product tour on our website.
As always, let us know if you have any questions. Thanks!
Luckily we got Michael to record a video or two recently that shows us various parts of Visual KPI. This video covers the Visual KPI Editor which is an add-on to Microsoft Excel. This is where setup, configuration and ongoing changes are made to deployments of Visual KPI. As you can see, we leveraged all the work Microsoft has done (and continues to do) on Excel which not only makes it easier for us, but users end up with a configuration tool they already know how to use (read: low training cost) and one where changes can be made in seconds without any coding.
All the configuration work you do in the Excel Editor defines what the screens will look like in your web browser or on your mobile device (Blackberry, iPhone/iPad, Android, Windows Mobile, etc.. In another video (which we will post soon), you will see an overview of those screens.
As always, please let us know if you have any comments or questions…
For see our website for more information on Visual KPI for mobile business intelligence. If you want us to demo the software for you over a web meeting, just contact us at info@transpara.com.
Dashboard Insight – June 25, 2010 Mobile Business Intelligence is like a small child. Everyone seems to have some level of interest and it’s growing faster by the day. It’s also growing in a clumsy way; as it tries to mature, everyone seems to be telling it how to behave and what it should be when it grows up. More…
Easy-to-use, Cost-effective Mobile Business Intelligence Software Provides Customers with Universal Data Access on Any Mobile Device or Browser
Transpara Corporation, a leading provider of mobile business intelligence (BI) software, today announced that it has signed a reseller agreement with CIMSoft to deliver Visual KPI to the Canadian market. The only solution purpose-built for delivering data to users on any mobile device or PC without any additional programming or changes to existing security requirements, Visual KPI offers CIMSoft customers a near real-time corporate data experience regardless of employees’ location or device.
“Over the many years we have been involved in helping our customers capture and expose data to their organization, we have never had such a secure, universal delivery mechanism available as we do with Visual KPI,” said Robert Carney, President of CIMSoft. “Whether we are helping customers to deliver industrial process data or corporate financial data, Visual KPI delivers a sophistication and ease of use that has not been available previously. When compared against competitive offerings, it’s almost irresistible.”
With Visual KPI, employees can access key business indicators, regardless of location, to determine how well their business is performing, and what actions they need to take to improve it. Through this partnership, Visual KPI will help CIMSoft customers better respond to their ever-changing business environments, delivering competitive advantage with:
Ease of use – Visual KPI uses a Microsoft Excel-based tool for configuration and set-up, delivering a solution that does not require programming or significant training.
Data consistency – Whether corporate data and history are stored in regular or streaming databases, data historians, web services or external sources, it is easily captured and presented consistently on more than 400 smartphones or browsers.
Cost-effectiveness – Since Visual KPI is installed on an existing server or virtual machine and requires only simple configuration to access existing data sources and devices, the IT department does not have to make any changes to their security model or maintain multiple versions for each of their devices (Blackberry, iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone, Android, etc.).
Speed of Implementation – Visual KPI can be deployed within one to two days – and often, only hours – eliminating both the time and expense of traditional data or business intelligence projects.
“With the addition of CIMSoft to our reseller partner program, we continue to rapidly grow our channel with new geographies,” said Michael Saucier, founder and CEO, Transpara. “CIMSoft’s experience with customers across an array of industries, from commercial and industrial, to financial, medical and service-based, make them an ideal partner to bring Transpara’s mobile BI offering to a broader set of automation companies in Canada.”
Visual KPI aggregates operations, financial and infrastructure information from multiple, existing data sources and delivers actionable key performance indicators (KPIs) and alerts to users via the desktop, laptop, and virtually all smartphones and PDAs, including Blackberry, iPhone/iPad, Windows Mobile, Android and others. The web-based software enables users to easily create and customize KPIs, scorecards and trends for an instant snapshot of role-based operations data.
About CIMSoft The parent company of Wonderware Canada East, CIMSoft Corporation has been providing customers in the automation marketplace with world-class products and support since 1996. Visit www.cimsoftcorp.ca for more information.
About Transpara Corporation Transpara delivers Visual KPI, mobile business intelligence (BI) software that provides thousands of users in process and utility industries with role-based, actionable KPIs, trends and alerts on any smart device, including Blackberry, iPhone/iPad, Windows Mobile, Android, and all PC and Mac browsers. Visual KPI delivers key operational metrics from existing data sources in context and in real-time, enabling timely, informed decision making from any location. By helping customers to monitor their assets and execution, Visual KPI improves performance, reduces operating costs and lowers business risk. Visit www.transpara.com for more information.
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Transpara is a registered trademark of Transpara Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Industry Veteran from Invensys, Emerson, and Wonderware to Expand Transpara Distribution Channel for Visual KPI Mobile Business Intelligence Software
Transpara Corporation, a leading provider of mobile business intelligence (BI) software, today announced the appointment of Mark Morse as Vice President of Sales, Industrial Division. In this role, Morse will be responsible for expanding the Visual KPI distribution channel beyond the North American market and developing strategic industry partnerships. The only solution custom-built for delivering data to users on any mobile device or PC without any additional programming, Visual KPI helps companies to improve performance, reduce operating costs and lower business risk.
With more than 20 years of sales management experience in the high technology marketplace, Morse has a proven track record of leading teams in selling operations management, visualization, and information software solutions. He will play a significant role in extending Transpara’s presence in manufacturing, as well as the power, water, transportation and facilities management industries.
“Not only is Visual KPI a powerful operational BI tool on its own, but it also provides significant value as a complement to traditional BI and Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence (EMI) solutions,” said Morse. “With personalized KPIs, scorecards, trends and alerts designed to be displayed on mobile devices, Visual KPI enables customers to become their own solution providers by leveraging a simple ‘zero code’ deployment environment. In my new role, I look forward to continuing to build the impressive list of happy customers who have benefited from the Transpara solution.”
Prior to Transpara, Morse was Vice President of Global Sales for the Wonderware Division of Invensys PLC, a $4 billion FTSE 100 global technology group, where he delivered double-digit revenue growth in 24 out of 28 quarters, with yearly growth as high as 20%. He was previously vice president of North American Sales in the Wonderware Division of Invensys, and Director of North American Sales for the Intellution Division of Emerson, a $20 billion global manufacturing and technology company.
About Transpara Corporation Transpara delivers Visual KPI, mobile dashboard software that provides thousands of users in the process and utility industries with role-based, actionable KPIs, trends and alerts on any web browser. Visual KPI presents operating information from multiple data sources in context and in real-time, enabling timely, informed decision making from any location. By helping customers to monitor their asset base, Visual KPI improves performance, reduces operating costs and lowers business risk. Visit www.transpara.com for more information.
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Transpara is a registered trademark of Transpara Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Automation World – May 2010 Wireless communications are now considered reliable enough for use on factory floors, so they’re being deployed to provide inexpensive communications for sensors and other components that sit in places that are hard to reach with wires. More…
Automation World – May 2010 Executives at Mohawk Fine Papers Inc. look at cell phones to see ordering and production data critical to them, getting real-time information from anywhere. “The mobility aspect is truly important, we can’t be successful unless we’re always watching to see how the business is running,” says Paul Stamas, vice president of IT for Mohawk. More…
Standing in for Michael today, mostly because he is too busy talking and not typing (he’s at the OSISoft PI User’s Conference in San Francisco), is me: Robert Hylton. My role? Not really sure, but I guess you could call me a long-time band member and the guy who aspires to make real-time dashboarding software great for the masses, not just the massive. Enough about that, on to today’s topic…
We’ve been talking to some folks that are not part of our core lately (I know, risky). They are not customers, partners or our own employees. They are industry analysts, reporters and various others that we interact with to gather feedback from time to time. They are very helpful and we actually like them quite a bit, but they keep using the word startup when referring to us and we aren’t always sure if that is a good or a bad thing. Good, I guess because we like to think of ourselves as a lean, scrappy, agile band of renegades that break rules in unique ways to better society. Bad, because we write industrial-strength real-time software for some of the largest enterprises on the planet and they aren’t always fans of risk.
So, are we a startup? Yes and no. Let’s look at a few of the downsides (for customers) of working with a startup:
Startup Stereotype
Transpara Reality
New, often immature product
New product, but years in the making
A newly assembled team, often young
Core team has been together for over 10 years – this is the 3rd company. Unfortunately for us, not that young anymore
Backed by venture capital
Self-funded
In the red
In the black
Ok, but forget that self-indulgent sales pitch for a moment and let’s look at some of the things that make startups great:
So, are we a startup? We are five years old and most of us have worked together for over a decade. To be honest, it doesn’t really matter the way I’ve described it above except to those who feel compelled to categorize us (like analysts – they get paid to – we understand). What really matters is how a company like ours goes about serving customers. In our case, that means mixing the two together into a stew of goodness that makes our customer want to buy software from us and keep doing so. To that end, here are a few of our priorities
Build agile software like a startup, with quality control and customer scenarios of a mature company
Use the latest technology and processes, but never at the expense of quality
Leverage our community like a startup, but maintain real relationships with our customers like a mature company
Focus on usability and simplicity like a startup, but don’t limit customization like a mature product (this one is always a tough balance)
Front-end (web presence, marketing, community, training, education, etc.) like a startup, Back-end (development, quality, support, operations) rock-solid like a mature company.
There are many more, but to paraphrase my last bullet above, we are not a startup, but we play one on TV the Internet.
