Benefits and Challenges of Dashboards
dashboards serve a crucial role in organization and interpretation. For starters, they connect users with critical, at-a-glance information that’s relevant to their operations.
From sales and to inventory reports and finance, you can navigate the information that matters most from a single hub-whether that’s a desktop PC or . A also helps with the of several needed by every .
Dashboards also pose their unique challenges and difficulties, ranging from the technical (coding expertise and integration limitations) to the financial (individual licenses and training programs).
Do the pros of outweigh the cons? Almost certainly. But by preparing yourself for the numerous challenges that can arise from software, you’ll be in a better position to reap the benefits.
In this article, we will discuss the different in every .
Benefits
With the right tools and experience in place, tools provide several valuable benefits.
Provides at-a-glance visibility
Good makes even the most complex easy to read and interpret and provides on-demand visibility and insight. Rather than waiting for analysts to deliver monthly reports, a displays up-to-date information so you can instantly track the progress and changing conditions of a department or operation.
Saves time and resources
Without , businesses spend countless hours logging into systems to run and format individual reports, or they rely on IT personnel to run and format these reports for them. saves valuable time and resources by displaying updated results for each report.
Improves decision making
Immediate access to at-a-glance information means businesses can swiftly make decisions and take action. There’s no need to request from developers, wait for the , receive the report and then attempt to take action. Instead, reports are instantaneous and can be easily shared between users, enabling the free flow of information between key players.
Easy performance checks and balances
You don’t have to wait months to detect performance issues among your team or staff. When employees are aware that a can monitor their performance in an up-to-date fashion, they’ll inherently improve their performance-even if it’s just to “stay off the radar.” enables you and your team to track progress, meet specific goals or improve individual performance rates.
Up-to-date progress evaluation
When you enact a new policy or process, how long does it usually take to measure the results of that change? With a good in place, you can see the effects in near real-time, measuring goals-against progress as you work to improve your operations.
Challenges
BI providers promote the benefits of software. Still, they often overlook some of the challenges and difficulties that come with integrating these powerful tools into your .
Some challenges are evident from the outset, while others you may only encounter much later down the line when your and technology is firmly in place.
needs meaningful metrics.
First and foremost, a must measure something meaningful. This requires an understanding of the right metrics to select. Broad metrics such as “net income” won’t provide much insight but drilled down. These specific metrics influence those more comprehensive metrics will.
Businesses should set up with a specific user in mind.
Dashboards are often set up without a user in mind. This can be problematic from the very beginning, as specific is designed for experienced developers, making them highly complicated to set up by anyone outside of an IT department. On the other hand, tools come with pre-loaded dashboards that any user can navigate. The problem is that these off-shelf dashboards can’t measure specific metrics that are relevant to every .
Compatibility and interfacing issues
is not universal. Connectivity and compatibility is a common challenge among dashboards. Suppose a can’t connect with a critical system. In that case, the information it provides will be incorrect, outdated, or limited in its usefulness. To bridge the gap, users have to manually input , which essentially defeats the purpose of the .
Scalability and cost
Dashboards can be costly depending on the provider’s requirements and the size of the . Some BI providers require a license for each individual that will be accessing the . In contrast, others charge monthly or yearly subscription fees that scale according to the size of the itself. While not an inherent challenge, researching the price of each and determining its ROI is an essential step in finding the right piece of software.
Every Has its Pros and Cons
As we stated initially, the benefits of a well-designed almost certainly outweigh any cons that might come with it. The ideal will securely and automatically connect users to the information they need, either in real-time or as close to real-time as possible. tools allow users to not only access critical information whenever they need it but to act quickly on that information as well.
A good exists for every , but it will still come with its own unique set of challenges that need to be addressed. A can overcome these challenges, whether it’s additional developer knowledge or a compatibility issue with different sources.
Knowing the various benefits and challenges of will help you search for the right piece of technology for your .
Next up: Key Features and Elements of a
What exactly makes a a powerful and resourceful ?
In this article, we examine the key features prevalent in today’s software. From KPIs, tables and maps, to specific filters, embedded objects and metrics, we walk you through every component of a typical while explaining the potential benefits of each one.
Thus, you will gain into using a to our advantage.
