Mobile devices are the new front in the battle for the $16 billion business intelligence market. SAP SE entrenched its position this week with the acquisition of MeLLmo Inc., the company behind the hugely-successful Roambi line of data visualization tools.

The California-based outfit has come a long way since releasing the first version of its flagship Roambi Analytics app for the iPhone back in 2009. MeLLmo’s four co-founders developed the software with the intention of enabling executives to easily check up on their business when away from the office. Data could be visualized using one of several pre-implemented charts that made it possible to quickly glean key information before entering a meeting or boarding a flight. The then-novel approach made the software an instant hit in the enterprise, properling MeLLmo to the top of the mobile food chain and giving rise to a whole crop of competitors.

Over the next few years, the company steadily expanded its value proposition with new graphs and navigation features as well as a collection of complementary tools designed to help organizations make more use out of Roambi. The first addition to the roster was made in 2011 with the launch of Flow, a PDF alternative meant to bring the data visualization app’s popular aesthetic to corporate newsletters and sales material. MeLLmo followed up the rollout two years later with the introduction of a cloud-based platform for distributing business data to employees.

The company also added support for Android along the way, although iOS is still the platform of choice for most Roambi users, which was likely one of the main reasons behind SAP’s decision to swoop in this week. Apple Inc. dominates the enterprise mobile market with a 66 percent share of activations as of the third quarter of 2015, according to data from Blackberry Ltd-owned device management provider Good Technology. Equally significantly, the electronics giant maintains a partnership with rivaling business intelligence giant IBM Corp. that has produced more than 100 business applications since its announcement in 2014.

Roambi provides SAP with a much-needed beachhead on iOS that will help advance its efforts to loosen Big Blue’s grip on the market. The company didn’t disclose how much it’s paying for MeLLMo, but given the strategic importance of the deal and the fact that the app maker boasts several thousand enterprise customers, the transaction is likely valued at least in the eight figures.

Image via Geralt