Roambi Launches Cloud Platform for Big Data, Business Intelligence Analytics

In Roambi‘s vision of Big Data analytics, mobile devices allow users to interpret and visualize information no matter where they are. Now, the company also hopes to innovate in a second area with a new cloud platform, Roambi Business, that lets users interpret data no matter where it lives, without extensive additional investment in the data infrastructure itself. Here’s the full story, and what it says about the future of Big Data and business intelligence.

Roambi’s smartphone app, which we first covered in March, leverages touch and related technologies to optimize data visualization and analytics on smartphones and other mobile devices. The company is betting on a future in which users discard traditional PCs in favor of tools that allow them to interpret large amounts of information through the cloud.

Starting today, Roambi has added a new dimension to its operations by launching its own cloud platform on Amazon Web Services, called Roambi Business, that it says will “democratize data” by making it easy for organizations of all sizes to connect their data with analytics tools. They key feature is that the platform supports data analysis no matter where the data exists—”whether it’s Excel spreadsheets, CRM systems, databases or traditional business intelligence systems” —and without requiring substantial investment within platform that hosts the data.

This is a big move for Roambi, which now offers much more than a smartphone data analytics app. And it’s also significant for the channel, where it signals the growing demand by enterprises big and small for convenient, cost-effective means of interpreting data. Without tools and platforms such as the one Roambi has introduced for making sense of Big Data, investment in Big Data infrastructure pays few dividends.

Alongside unveiling its new platform, Roambi on Tuesday also announced a partner program, which it’s calling the North America Roambi Partner Program, to provide solutions for resellers interested in incorporating Roambi Business into their products. The program should increase Roambi’s engagement within the channel and extend its ability to reach end users.

As a company, Roambi sits at what stands to be a very fertile crossroads between mobile and Big Data. Not only are both areas undergoing explosive growth that will, by all indications, continue for a long time, but they also complement one another in exceptionally productive ways. Expect to see more integration across the channel on these fronts going forward.