How Organizations Use BI Dashboards and Take Benefit from It?

Information is the most important part of the decision-making process. A lack of it can lead to misinformed conclusions and poor decisions that lead to economic losses. Business success tends to go to people who base their actions on facts and metrics instead of those who use hunches and assumptions.

Today, you no longer need to be an IT expert to collect business-relevant data and apply it to advance your success. Especially with business intelligence (BI) dashboards, even executives and managers with no technical expertise can analyze the data and make better decisions for their departments and the organization. BI dashboards in business analytics let you collect important information and display it in the form of graphs, maps, diagrams, charts, and so on. By comparing this data to other departments, periods, and competitors as well as analyzing it and building forecasts, you will be able to make the most informed and well-calculated decision.

As we mentioned, the role of dashboards in business intelligence is to showcase vital KPIs that influence your company's results. Based on these metrics, an executive can make a cognizant decision to increase productivity, attract new clients, and cut unnecessary expenses. The graphic representation tool will also help you to pinpoint problematic areas and identify potential issues. Knowledge is everything, so by detecting the problems as soon as possible, you mitigate the potential risks and minimize the harm.

As the name suggests, strategic dashboards track the progress towards the company's strategic goals. For example, doubling the revenue — the dashboard will display both actual and target revenue to compare them. Strategic dashboards are a must-have for business owners as they offer a broad overview of the company's performance.

Operational dashboards deal with information on a slightly smaller scale. They serve to organize data within one department. Every manager requires a clear overview of the budget, revenue, project duration, and deadlines, as well as faster data tracking. By analyzing operational dashboards, managers can single out important KPIs to follow a particular business area's performance and take immediate action.

The tactical dashboard allows you to have an in-depth analysis and perceive data in more detail. This BI tool is perfect for middle management that needs to have an in-depth understanding of business processes. Being able to offer a lot of different data, tactical dashboards let you filter out the most important figures, receive weekly reports, and get ahead of the competition by analyzing trends.

A dashboard for business intelligence provides an incredible opportunity to boost your company's analytic capabilities. But which numbers should you track, and which KPIs can you monitor with them?

BI sales dashboard can do wonders for your sales analysis by processing the following information:

Demand forecasting serves as a tool to understand consumer behavior and their inclination to purchase your product. To be prepared for the next period and match the demand, managers analyze previous data along with current market trends and conditions to estimate the possible demand for the upcoming period.

What is a BI dashboard for customer analysis? It is a tool that entails and presents information about sales and acquired profit. The data is usually broken down by region and other demographics.

Like other managers, marketing executives rely on data to determine what impacts their unit's performance and what doesn't. How successful was the latest marketing campaign, and how does it compare to the previous one? These important metrics will help marketers make informed decisions and get a priceless insight into best practices.

What is a business intelligence dashboard for financial data processing reporting? It is a tool that helps managers monitor every important KPI that is relevant for their business unit. Using dashboards, you can enhance your cost management strategy, track expenses and revenue goals, calculate liquidity status, and monitor accounting information.

What is the importance of BI dashboards, and what benefits should you expect? We've collected a list for you to consider:

When you are new to something, implementing best practices is the way to go about it. They have been collected and established by experts who have gained enough experience in the area and are ready to share their knowledge.

First, ask yourself the following questions to establish the requirements for your reporting tools:

Once you have figured out these questions, discuss your results with stakeholders to determine their interests and requirements. Working together, you will analyze all data and decide which BI dashboard software covers your needs and helps you achieve your strategic goals the best.

Customer experience is a vital indicator of nearly everything. What do your users need from this tool to make the best decisions? It also depends on the potential user since your company will have various customers with their specific needs. For example, an executive needs a summary of KPIs to make informed business decisions. Your marketers require data about marketing campaigns and their outcomes. Finally, the sales department wants metrics that cover sales-related data. Hence, you need your BI tool to be customizable to fit everyone's needs and generate data that suits each department.

People perceive information through visual representation better. This is why use graphs, pie charts and make sure to use different colors to separate data. Here are the three most important BI dashboard best practices for visualization:

To master your business intelligence dashboard design, always keep the context in mind. A single number won't convey whether you have had a successful month or not. The relation to the previous month will. Include historical data to point out the trend and keep the users truly informed.

Interactive dashboards are the way to engage users in data instead of keeping them as a silent audience. Additionally, customizability adds extra value for the user by enabling them to display only the essential information: customers can hide some charts, request additional details, and enjoy real-time metrics.

Once you have chosen and customized the dashboards, do not stop. Always ask for feedback and make sure these tools are still relevant for the customers.

Dashboards are created to present complex data in an easy form and boost the efficiency of decisions. Hopefully, best practices will help you design the ultimate dashboard for your needs. If not, refer to Aspirity — a team of professionals with years-long experience in UI/UX design as well as data representation techniques. Our extended knowledge and expertise will help you achieve your goals and provide the best user experience.

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