As the growth of technology allows businesses of all sizes to collect simply massive amounts of data, the business intelligence software that was once purely under the purview of analysts is now becoming one of the most important parts of everyday business life. For anyone dealing with any of the various business intelligence solutions out there, living with the BI dashboard, which is simply the interface for the BI software, can be a love-hate relationship. While there are still some negatives opinions surrounding BI dashboards, the last few years have proven that there really is a whole lot more to love./p>
1. Access to Information
Your BI dashboard is the window through which you can view all of your stored data, the one tool you can control to take and mold that data into something meaningful and actionable. Think about just how much information any given company can now store. There are hundreds, or sometimes thousands, of data points for every customer, warehouse or factory transaction, and for any company doing a respectable amount of volume, a data set this size can quickly become unmanageable.
That’s where the dashboard comes in. When designed properly, it gives you instant access to all the data points you need to know about and can draw up comparisons based on that data. The best dashboards also give you plenty of chart and graph output options, allowing you to get a better idea about how individual data sets have changed over time. Simply put, your data would be next to meaningless for almost everyone in the company without the dashboard.
2. They’re Getting Smarter
It’s true that BI dashboards have gotten somewhat of a bad rap over the years, but all that has been changing even if the stigma hasn’t yet gone away. Instead of arcane fields requiring specific instructions from the operator, modern BI dashboards provide up-to-date charts on the most-used data fields and have simple layouts that make finding the right data intuitive.
With a little forethought, a BI dashboard can be set up to automatically display important pieces of data as they arise, greatly helping business leaders make quick, yet informed, decisions. As automation technology advances, expect the next generation of BI dashboards to start anticipating what data will be required, and even to start making its own conclusions based on collected data.
3. Better Collaboration
A BI dashboard gives all employees access to the same information at the same time. Instead of hoping that the department you are currently talking to has gotten an up-to-date snapshot of the data, you will automatically know that they are looking at the exact same data as you are. When the trends shift, you’ll know that managers across the company are all seeing that shift at the same time, and can all start working together with the knowledge that they are all automatically on the same page.
4. Mobility
The business world is growing increasingly mobile, with smartphones and tablets becoming some of the most important business tools, and now your BI dashboard is following suit. No longer do you have to use your mobile browser to access a poorly rendered BI dashboard, but can instead use a custom-built mobile application to get access to all of your important information.
Sure, there is less room for pre-set graphs and charts on the actual dashboard, but the concept of accessing all of your vital BI data wherever you are is clearly a game changer. Most BI developers are just getting around to the switch to mobile, but expect mobile apps to be the major interface for many BI platforms in just a few years.
Jared likes to write exclusively about innovative technologies and solutions because I'm a tech professional of over 10 years and a current employee at Dell. I find that individuals and large enterprises are faced with difficulties that can be solved with solutions like Virtualization or cloud computing but aren't aware of them because of traditional media's heavy focus on consumer gadgets. My opinion pieces are geared towards raising consumer awareness around these available technologies.
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dipa
October 8, 2012 at 6:52 am
Nicely explained. BI dashboard apps are sure to revolutionize the way companies share, access and do business. I have forwarded this info to my friends in the ERP field. Thanks for sharing.
Rick
October 25, 2012 at 1:53 am
Jared, this was well stated.
I find that your last two points are the most relevant to the clients that I talk to. Executives wants a dashboard on their iPad. They want complete access to their data from anywhere at anytime. The other point was collaboration. I am finding that many dashboards are starting to come prepackaged with collaboration tools already included in the product. The ability to see a metric that isn’t performing well — and immediately bring it to the attention of someone else within the dashboard is phenomenal.
Thanks for this post.
Michael
December 4, 2012 at 12:05 am
I think actionable lists, based on the BI data, will be the most helpful to companies. That\’s the problem with too much data – no one has the time to really dive in a pull out actionable points to make the data worth having. A solution that could help with this would be very beneficial.
Sarah
February 21, 2013 at 11:54 am
I personally would hire a business intelligence consultant if you are new to this. They will know the best bi tools to use to effectively analyse data in order to better your products/services. Don’t waste your precious time on something that you no little about!