Extending a BI App with an Android Component to Enable Interactive Insights Exploration
Summary
An international business intelligence software company wanted to make its geographic reports richer and more interactive without slowing them down. INNERLUXES built an embeddable Android component that renders statistical data on interactive maps inside the company's BI applications — color-highlighted regions, a slideshow mode, and customizable display — while keeping rendering fast no matter how large the data file is.
About the Client
The Client is an international IT company, operating since 1991, that specializes in business intelligence applications with leading-edge analytics, multi-dimensional data cubes, and robust econometric forecasting tools. It has offices worldwide and employs around 1,500 people.
BI Reports Needed Rich, Interactive Maps Without Sacrificing Speed
The Client builds a range of BI solutions whose reports compare data against geographic information, so combining rich analytical options with fast, interactive visualization is essential. To enrich its products, the Client engaged INNERLUXES to create an Android-based solution for visualizing statistical information on geographic maps. A key requirement was that data had to display quickly regardless of the size of the data file.
An Embeddable Android Component for Interactive Statistical Maps
INNERLUXES created an Android component that integrates into the Client's BI applications to enrich their analytical performance. To run inside a given application, the component is supplied with an SVG file for the map and an XML file for the data. With it, users can:
- Build interactive map reports in which different regions of the map are highlighted in different colors for stronger visual impact.
- Play data as a slideshow, stepping through how the statistics display on the map.
- Customize the display through a menu for font size and color, map legend properties, and pop-up hints.
The component was engineered to display data quickly whatever the file size, meeting the Client's performance requirement.
Richer BI Apps That Reveal Trends at a Glance
The Client gained an Android component for building reports with interactive maps that enriches the functionality of its BI applications. By bringing together multiple data sets with geographic information, the solution makes interactions and trends easy to discover, raising the value of the products. It helps the Client increase the satisfaction of existing clients and gives it a competitive edge in attracting new ones. All of the Client's requirements were met, and the component was delivered within the planned deadline.
Technologies and Tools
Android SDK, Eclipse IDE, ADT plugin, SVG, XML.