Business Intelligence Dashboards are like Picture Books for Children
When my kids were young I often read books to them at bedtime. It was great fun for all of us. I enjoyed the nuances of how the author cleverly weaved words into an engaging tale that often poked fun of adult foibles. Those nuances were lost on my kids, though – they just didn’t have the sophistication or experience to appreciate the details in the same way I did. They could follow the narrative and grasp the general plot line, at least most of the time. For some reason the best books, from their perspective, had pictures – lots of them. Visuals elucidated what was otherwise lost in the details.
I don’t think we’re really that much different as adults. When we have the technical sophistication or experience to appreciate the details, we engage on a different level than those without that background. But as adults we’re no longer just dealing with simple stories at bedtime. Now we’re dealing with managing complex business situations in a dynamic environment – and everyone’s playing for keeps.
Financial managers can unlock hidden opportunities by providing compelling communications to stakeholders. And the most effective way to do that is with pictures – visually representing vast amounts of data through the use of dashboards and scorecards software. Providing critical business intelligence to key decision makers can be the difference between successful growth in a tepid global environment and making room for newer, more effective players in your market niche.
Visuals are more Compelling than Words and Numbers Alone
Of course, the efficacy of business intelligence is a function of both time and the depth and scope of data being analyzed. Traditionally financial managers had to make a trade off between publishing the most current information and collating vast amounts of data. The more current the data needed to be, the less scope or depth of data that could be included for analysis. With today’s increasing pressure to maintain margins and earning performance, traditional reporting doesn’t cut the muster.
But with the advent of cloud-based big data analysis platforms like Kepion Reporting, all stakeholders throughout an organization – from the board of directors to the production line managers – can have access to real-time information in a visual format that provides the key insights they need for critical decisions. Dashboards and scorecards software, like the pictures in children’s books, help to tell the financial story, make volumes of data compelling and engaging, and invite contributions and insights from across your organization.