A couple of weeks ago I saw the press release for the release of the SAP BusinessObjects Mobile 5.0 mobile application. I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about it since a) there was a ton of news to talk about, b) everyone has a mobile app so big deal, and c) BI is not a space I cover unless it’s about social, cloud, or something beyond the pedestrian if mobile.

But, it turns out that the SAP BusinessObjects mobile application is about social. SAP has intelligently integrated the application with SAP Jam. This means that anyone using SAP BusinessObjects Mobile can share their reports or portions of reports with others who can then comment and provide meaning – context if you will – to the information. Anyone who has been handed a report knows that they generate more questions than they provide answers.

If, for example, a report says that inventory is growing it’s important to find out why. It’s possible to dig and dig and dig but there is probably someone in sales or manufacturing that can tell already knows why inventory and its carrying costs are suddenly ballooning. It makes even more sense when walking on the factory floor with a tablet in hand and noticing the piles of product sitting around. Being able to call up the inventory report, validate the observation, and begin to do something about it is the perfect fusion of social, mobile, and analytics as well as the perfect scenario for SAP Jam

This scenario also highlights exactly what enterprise social networks are supposed to do – enhance common business functions so that decisions get made more quickly. Sharing information from SAP BusinessObjects reports is exactly the type of sharing that makes enterprise social networks meaningful and, frankly, justifiable. It is an obvious use case.

It’s a good thing that someone shared the article with me.