The former Google CEO Eric Schmidt once said that every two days now we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003. This exabytes of data are mostly generated by users in the form of e-mails, pictures, tweets and all other footprint we leave behind online. This massive amount of data tells volumes about Internet users and can be effectively leveraged by companies to gain insights into new revenue and business opportunities. However, the pool of data alone doesn’t constitute a tangible value. First, the data must be gathered and structured, subsequently analyzed and acted on to provide business insights.
Visualize data without writing a single line of code
Self-service data visualization software comes to your assistance to break the mass of data and display it on customizable dashboards. To get started with the software you connect the source of data you want to visualize to your online tool (in the form of CSV or Excel files, Facebook, Google Analytics or the most common SQL databases, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle and Microsoft Server SQL) and by means of an intuitive drag-and-drop interface you choose the data categories you want to juxtapose to create charts. MySQL Business Intelligence Tools like datapine will help you to build SQL Queries and visualize your data without being an IT specialist. It also allows you to give the dashboards the appearance you like, choosing between different types of charts, colors and fonts.
Look beyond the charts
Dashboards are a great way to see your numbers in a clearer, more actionable form. However, what you really want to visualize are the relationships between business operations and the actual performance. The correlations allow all employees to identify the root cause of the problem and act quickly to resolve it. Moreover, all changes in the original database files are recognized in real-time and automatically updated in your charts and tables. In a matter of minutes you create a dashboard which can be saved and shared as visual report with selected recipients. It can be viewed on a fixed or mobile device and communicated with any colleague in any other location at the click of a button. All those features will help you to identify and act on emerging business trends faster. With help of data visualization, decision makers are able to grasp shifts in customer behaviors and market conditions across multiple data sets much more quickly.
Interact with data
Our perception capabilities are limited to a certain amount of stimuli. If you don’t want to impair your concentration span by taking in invaluable data, be selective about what you analyze. One of the greatest strengths of data visualization is how it allows all employees to interact with data. As they view dashboards on their personal devices, they can dig for information specific for their business interests and bring insights to the surface. Engaging employees with data visualization can open up new ways of looking at business and operational data, giving senior management the security to make informed strategical decisions and lower-level employees the possibility to monitor and improve their business performance.
