BI Revolution

Former Forrester analyst Howard Dresner's annual Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Report is out. This year's report focuses on Mobile Marketing. 

I contribute to the survey and so receive a copy free and on release date. Here are my favorite points:

• Enterprise want email, personal info management (scheduling etc) and mobile BI.
• SMBs want MOBILE BI as #1 on their wish list. 
• CPG wants mobile BI most (80% top 2 box) followed by Retail/Wholesale and Health Care. 
• There is an interesting upside down confidence pyramid forming with execs very confident they are ready for mobile and increasing less confident as you move down line management to least confident = IT. 

The last bullet is the most fascinating thing in the study for me. I've felt two things with regard to the mobile tsunami. First I felt like I didn't understand it near well enough (still feel that way).

My next feeling was of FEAR because it felt like mobile changed everything it touched in very significant ways. Mobile is about SPEED, SIMPLICITY and VISUAL STORYTELLING at a time when it felt llke we ecom types were just starting to really know how to build SLOW, COMPLEX and BORING websites (lol).

I think there is another wave to the mobile tsunami. This move to visual over textual is significant movement even without mobile. With mobile visual presentation is on steroids. Video is KEY, headlines and clear CTAs are KEY, learning to tell a story differently is KEY and understanding the phone as game console feels KEY.

If all of that feels very different than the site you are running (even if you are mobile adaptive) then you win a smart phone. If you understand that this changes everything you win the right to stay in the game.

If, like me, you feel ill prepared for the second wave you win a new board and some wax 'cause we are going to surf this next wave of the mobile marketing tsunami. 

Great report. You can buy a copy on Howard's site: http://howarddresner.com/