Zero footprint business intelligence best for e-business, says industry research firm

Newly released Hurwitz Group report states HTML user interfaces, `add-browser-and-stir` architectures best suited to e-business

A report recently published by Hurwitz Group, Inc. concludes that pure HTML user interfaces, which provide zero footprint on client computers, are best suited to the tens of thousands of users found in the e-Business Intelligence (EBI) deployments of global organizations. The report-titled "The Right Architecture for e-Business Intelligence"-identifies and prioritizes requirements for EBI software in global e-Business environments.

The report from Hurwitz Group-a leading research and analyst firm serving the IT industry-validates the so-called `zero footprint` HTML approach for business intelligence on the Web, offered by Cognos, the world`s largest and most successful business intelligence company. Cognos` zero footprint user interfaces remove the technical and ease-of-use barriers to mass market adoption of EBI and enable widespread organizational access to key business data.

"There`s no question that e-Business requires low-barrier delivery of business intelligence. Based upon our findings, we believe that the right user-interface paradigm for most Web-based applications is an HTML-based solution," says Philip Russom, senior analyst, Framingham, MA-based research firm, Hurwitz Group. "For the demands of today`s global businesses, expecting a user to install a plug-in is not realistic if you don`t know what kind of browser they use. Downloading a Java applet takes more time than the impatient EBI user will tolerate, and it is subject to the vagaries of the user`s Java virtual machine."

Client/server BI deployments typically support hundreds of users, whereas Web-based business intelligence deployments are scaling up to thousands of users, according to the report from Hurwitz Group. "The reality is that - when scaling to thousands of users - the deployment reaches broadly across and deeply into an organization, far beyond the limited number of specialized power users for which the client/server version was originally developed," states the report.

Cognos business intelligence solutions today enable access to critical business data that traditionally has been held in the hands of a circle of executives. Web-based reporting and analysis of critical business intelligence breaks down the barriers to information access that can impact corporate performance. The democratization of data enables decentralized decision-making, ensuring employees at all levels of an organization and in each functional area can contribute to problem-solving and more effective decision making.

"There is a tremendous amount at stake when it comes to selecting the right architecture for an EBI solution," added Russom. "Hurwitz Group believes that an organization`s ability to share key business information simply and easily over the web is creating a tremendous business opportunity for companies to find new markets and conquer existing markets. By using the familiar and simple browser interface to view and analyze key data, a broad cross section of employees across organizations are able to take positive steps to help their organizations with real-time, grassroots solutions to business problems."