Professor Umar Ruhi and M.Sc. Student Awarded Mitacs Funding to Study Mashup Technologies

Professor Umar Ruhi of the Telfer School and Sabbir Ahmed, a graduate student in the M.Sc. E-Business Technologies Program have been awarded Mitacs Accelerate funding which they will use to study BI (business intelligence) mashups.

BI mashups help knowledge workers – i.e., analysts, developers, and project managers – respond better to unpredictable events which create a need for just-in-time data management. These tools are a new kind of web based applications providing self-service and real-time BI. They unify disparate data and services to respond more effectively to analytical needs at the level of the individual and the business. In addition, they complement traditional BI tools, which often have a poor utilisation rate. Many industry experts believe that BI mashups can help reverse that trend in part because they encourage the engagement of end-users.

The researchers will review the current landscape of BI and market-vendor interactions. They will also formulate a utility framework that can help organizations understand the business process requirements that can be satisfied through the use of BI mashups.

Professor Ruhi and Mr. Ahmed have been awarded $15,000 for their research investigation from the Mitacs Accelerate Program. The program provides applied research internship opportunities to graduate student researchers. Mitacs is providing one-half of the funding towards Mr. Ahmed’s internship, with the balance being contributed from the project’s industry partner IBM Canada Ltd.

To learn more, visit the IBM Centre for Business Analytics and Performance online.