MicroStrategy Incorporated, a leading worldwide provider of enterprise software platforms, has unveiled a solution to further transform the way people work.
MicroStrategy’s Mobile App Platform now integrates with Cisco’s Unified Communications (UC) platform, providing realtime user presence, instant messaging, voice and video-calling capabilities.
MicroStrategy customers can now build custom business apps embedded with rich collaboration alongside their transactions, multimedia and analytics.
“The MicroStrategy-Cisco technology partnership is a giant leap forward in business apps,” says Hugh Owen, VP of Mobile, MicroStrategy.
“Other mobile app platforms fail to provide seamlessly integrated, enterprise-grade video collaboration. The collaboration capability is brought up on top of the information-driven app without interrupting the user’s app experience or requiring a cross launch to a separate app.
“The user can pinch the video window to scale it to the user’s preference, or send it to the background without ending the call. It’s a tool for the business person of the future, available today.”
“We are extremely excited about the unique mobile collaboration solutions that we now can bring to market with MicroStrategy,” says Brian Dal Bello, GM of the Clients and Mobility Business Unit, Cisco.
“The integration between MicroStrategy and Cisco technologies allows companies to integrate voice, video and instant messaging (IM) into any business app built on MicroStrategy’s Mobile App Platform.”
Through the integration with Cisco UC, MicroStrategy mobile app users will now be able to take the action of calling a colleague via an encrypted channel, right from the app. Additionally, this integration offers command and control applications through conferencing. This technology can improve operations in a number of ways.
For example:
* Store managers can video call their peers at other stores on the other side of the world to discuss store performance while still interacting with their store performance information;
* Sales managers can video call their sales reps and analyse and discuss their performance without leaving their sales iPad app; and
* Executives can call on employees to conduct face-to-face reviews backed up with each employee’s performance information still at hand.
Through data-driven knowledge of employee information and “presence” capabilities provided through Cisco Unified Communications Manager, the caller will not only be able to identify the right person to call, but will also know whether or not that person is currently on duty and available.
For instance, a retail executive who is exploring store performance KPIs, might notice that sales in a particular department of the store surged last week.
Rather than exit out of the app and go to another system – or worse, to a different device – to determine the name and contact details for the manager of that department, the executive both can see the name of the appropriate employee and determine whether the individual is working and if he or she is available for a call or IM chat.
To make this integrated solution readily available to customers, MicroStrategy is offering a Mobile Collaboration QuickStrike, a free 10-day engagement with MicroStrategy mobile specialists designed to accelerate the deployment of a MicroStrategy-powered mobile app integrated with Cisco UC.
The Mobile Collaboration QuickStrike consists of:
* Installation of required MicroStrategy software to connect to Cisco UC;
* Configuration of applicable MicroStrategy products with Cisco UC connectivity;
* Design and configuration of a custom prototype app for the organisation based on specific data, processes and systems; and
* A detailed application design document and a video recording of the app workflow, for easy sharing within the organisation.
The Mobile Collaboration QuickStrike is expected to become available later this quarter.