A business intelligence (BI) dashboard is an information management tool used to track KPIs, metrics, and other data points relevant to a business, department, or specific process. Through the use of data visualizations, dashboards can simplify complex data sets to provide at-a-glance awareness of current performance.
RadiusBridge® leverages business data for our clients to grow. Whether our work begins with simply extracting the data or presenting it, we understand that executives have to have current accurate data in order to make correct management decisions. Regardless of business size, dashboards as business intelligence tools are required for managed growth.
But, how? Dashboards provide engaging data visualizations that present information to generate action and are tailored to answer any question, for any position, and for any department.
To create an effective BI dashboard, first identify the questions needing to answer, e.g., “How is our marketing return on investment doing today?” The base question determines not only the design of the report (the dashboards) but also forces the business to delve into the source location(s) of the data.
Answers to most business questions are hidden somewhere in the data with the first step being to identify which system(s) are really holding that data.
Finding and then presenting key data is where most of our client work starts.
Data-driven businesses succeed, but what is Business Intelligence?
BI is a tech-driven process used to analyze and display data in meaningful and actionable ways. Business intelligence encompasses a multitude of applications, tools, and technologies — all with the goal to provide the basis for more informed decisions using data and not guesswork.
Dashboards provide sleek, attractive, real-time visibility of information. Combining business intelligence data with dashboards gives both executives and staff at-a-glance real time views of performance data needed for more predictable operations.
Warning: BI dashboards must be researched and designed carefully. If the data being fed into the visualizations is not reliable, no matter how easy the dashboard itself is to read and analyze, the dashboard will be useless or even worse — dangerous.
Ready to grow using data-driven tools and management? Checklists for reviewing data sources are available on our website and a great place to start. We also have recommendations if you want to build BI presentation tools yourself.