IBM ports Cognos analytics tool to Apple iPad

IBM has released a version of its Cognos business analytics tool designed for Apple's iPad tablet.

Cognos Mobile for iPad allows companies to extend the use of their current analytics platforms to new sectors and applications, and is offered as a free download in the iTunes App Store.

The tool provides online and offline access to financial and customer data, as well as reporting and analysis tools, through an iPad-optimised interface.

IBM explained that the software offers insights into entirely new fields and provides analytic tools to new areas of a business.

The release comes as companies increasingly look to use the iPad for day-to-day business activities. A study from Good Technology suggested that many organisations are actively purchasing tablet hardware for employees.

David Barnes, IBM's programme director for emerging technologies, told V3 that early trials of Cognos Mobile have ranged from zoos seeking to analyse attendance patterns to police agencies looking to better pinpoint crime trends.

In many cases, Barnes noted that companies were able to use the mobile platform to open entirely new sources of strategically important data.

"Businesses have new opportunities to look at things," he said. "Nobody anticipated we would have so much information. These are opportunities we did not even know would exist."