QlikTech Ships BI Client for Google Android Phones

March 16, 2010 Alex Woodie

System i shops that adopt QlikTech‘s Windows-based business intelligence software now have a new way to consume information, dashboards, and reports from their i/OS ERP systems: via mobile phones running Google‘s mobile phone operating system, Android.

QlikTech has enjoyed tremendous success the last few years with QlikView, its suite of BI software that’s built on an in-memory associative database that provides very fast access to data, including multi-dimensional “cubes.” While bigger BI software vendors struggle to shake the notion that BI implementations must take years and cost millions of dollars, QlikTech has grabbed market share and industry awards by the handful with its simplified approach to BI.

QlikTech’s reputation for innovation was bolstered last week with the launch of a QlikView client for Android smart phones. The company says the new client gives users access to “fully interactive drill-down” functionality, as opposed to accessing static reports. This allows users to explore data as they would from a standard Web- or Windows-based interface.

The company claims QlikView for Android is the “first native BI app for the Android platform.” The software, which was developed in partnership with the Swedish company TAT–The Astonishing Tribe, runs across all Android phones, including HTC’s Hero and Magic phones; Samsung’s Galaxy; Motorola’s Droid; the Nexus One (jointly developed by HTC and Google); Acer’s Liquid; and Sony Ericsson’s X1.

This isn’t QlikTech’s first foray into BI clients for mobile phones. In April 2009, the company launched a QlikView client for Apple‘s iPhone that has been well-received by customers, a company spokesman said. QlikTech, which was originally founded in Sweden, also develops a mobile client called QlikView for Java Mobile (J2ME) clients.

QlikTech posted a nifty video of QlikView for Android on YouTube. For more information, see www.qliktech.com.