Making sense of the ever-increasing size of our business’s data sets is incredibly challenging. Reporting is a very important aspect; it helps to visualize the data in an easy-to-digest way. Talented data scientists are becoming well respected and sought after in this age where data is worth more than money.
Business intelligence and reporting are different, but they are becoming more intertwined as the software develops. There are different solutions for business reporting tools like open-source and enterprise. However, many businesses reporting tools don’t work and fall short.
No Flexible Format Options
Data can come from many different sources. Using the same format to represent data sets can keep it familiar and people can obtain the data they need quickly. This is not always the best option though as some business reporting tools don’t offer enough alternative ways to represent your data.
Data visuals are the key to getting the most out of your data. Some business reporting tools don’t work because they only represent data in limited chart styles and often only offer 2D visuals. 3D scatterplot maps, histograms, and charts can bring a new perspective into the equation, this can help realize some interesting insights about the data provided.
Different Data Source Problems
Similar to the limited formatting issues faced, many business reporting tools simply cannot handle some modern-day data sources. It’s either the issue of being unable to handle the data from a specific source or being unable to visually represent it reliably.
Every bit of data counts. Larger reporting solutions provide better results and more sources. Including a variety of data sources give a well-rounded representation of the different sets provided. Working with varied data sets can bring some interesting comparisons to light.
Restrictive And No Future Insight
Business reporting tools are reserved for individual teams. Many do not branch across to include comparisons against other teams’ data sets. They provide a representation of the ‘now’ and are meant to give insight into what should be acted upon. As a result, this is restrictive since the performance analyzed might be partially due to an outside source.
Since reporting is about the ‘now’ it also doesn’t give enough past data to compare against. Even within the same data source, it provides no past data to give some future insight. Insight about changes is crucial, and this drawback brings to light the reason many reporting tools don’t work.
Business Intelligence Tools
As software develops and business goals evolve, reporting is becoming integrated within more advanced business intelligence tools. Sometimes this is a grey area but reporting is not business intelligence. That is to say, reports are designed for specific teams like accountants and sales personnel.
Standalone solutions like many businesses reporting tools are becoming obsolete. Computing power can be migrated to the cloud and allow for more powerful business intelligence tools to be made. Cloud tools handle the role of reporting and visualization better than current business reporting tools.
If you are looking for a solution that can fulfill the role of business intelligence and reporting, contact us at Axis Software Dynamics. Certainly, we understand data and know how to make it work for you and your business.
