Mobile Business Intelligence Assistant (m-BELA) for Higher Education Executives

Abstract

In the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0 marked by the use of information technology, the Internet in particular, university executives, as well as executives in companies, are often in such a situation which forces them to conduct business intelligence activities ranging from simply accessing data and information to analyzing them to support their decision making whenever and wherever they are. Typically, university executives are able to access data and information not only from their university databases through their web applications but also from other data sources using internet browser installed on their laptops or mobile devices. However, information access model using web application tends to be rigid where the order of menu, layout, and user-interface provided are static which forces the user to memorize or search for the right place to find the data and information needed. Certainly, this model cannot keep up with the dynamic information needs. This study produces a mobile-based application named m-BELA which functions like a human personal assistant equipped with pre-defined data, information, and knowledge who is able to interpret user’s voice command and then responds appropriately by following conversation or providing data and information relevant to the command. This new solution offers a competitive advantage since the user does not need to load a browser, open the web application, and then search for the menu and UI which provide information needed.