The modern professional interacts with data daily. For decision making, understanding market trends, optimizing operations, and personalizing customer experiences.
The availability of data visualization tools has streamlined this process. However, the plethora of available options makes it challenging to select the tools that align with business objectives, budget, and scalability becomes challenging.
In this guide, we’ll look at how data visualization makes information more accessible and understandable across industries and tools that may fit your business needs.
The Impact: Why Data Visualization Matters
Enhance Understanding Through Visual Representation
Understanding data can be challenging due to its complexity and volume, as it can come in various formats and structures.
Data visualization presents data in a way that’s easy to understand. Its significance lies in the human brain's ability to process and understand visual information more efficiently than raw data in spreadsheets or lengthy reports.
It makes data visualization a powerful tool for enhancing comprehension, particularly in collaborative environments where bringing teams onto the same page is essential. Visualizing data involves using charts, graphs, maps, and other graphical elements to represent information. This approach serves several purposes:
- It aids in cleaning and exploring data structures,
- Identifying trends and clusters,
- Spotting outliers and unusual patterns, and
- Assessing the output of various models.
Empower Businesses with Informed Decision-Making
The foundation of data-driven decision-making is high-quality data. Its presentation, however, defines the accuracy, ease, and speed of processes. Clear and engaging visualizations allow decision-makers to grasp insights and implications easily, regardless of their technical background.
For instance, a technology company using a heatmap to analyze user engagement data can immediately point out areas of their product that engaged users the most or least. The firm can then take targeted action to enhance its product and directly address customer needs, leading to better satisfaction.
Research Insights: The Power of Visual Data
Decision-Making and Meeting Efficiency
According to a study by Robert Horn at Stanford University:
- 64% of participants in a study were more likely to follow presentations that included an overview map.
- Groups using data visualization increased their ability to reach a consensus by 21% and shortened meetings by 24%.
- Visual language improved problem-solving effectiveness by 19% and produced 22% higher results in 13% less time.
Effectiveness of Visual Aids in Presentations
- A study by the Wharton School of Business found that visual presentations were over two-thirds more convincing than purely verbal presentations and 43% more persuasive than presentations without visual aids.
Productivity and Error Reduction
- Incorporating visuals in documents can save 39% of the time spent finding crucial information and lead to a 15% increase in productivity.
- Using color in data presentation can reduce the time to find correct data by 70% and decrease errors by 80%.
Corporate Solutions: Data Visualization in Business
Insights into Actionable Strategies
- Data visualization should be easy to digest. Simple visuals with limited graphs and clear key performance indicators will help users understand the data better and ensure higher adoption rates.
- Consider the data literacy of users and choose visual elements accordingly. For example, some companies use gauges or single measurement KPIs on dashboards for quick comprehension by management.
- The choice of data visualization tools should align with the specific needs of the company. While tools like Microsoft Excel might suffice for basic tasks, more complex requirements may necessitate advanced software that can handle larger datasets.
- Be cautious about the data you choose to visualize, as it may lead to erroneous interpretations or assumptions about causality. Visualizations can be misleading if they unintentionally suggest that certain groupings or factors are the cause of observed outcomes.
Data Visualization Tools for Corporate Success
- Tableau
Tableau is a BI and data visualization tool that stands out for its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, which simplifies tasks like sorting, comparing, and analyzing data.
It offers a comprehensive suite of products, including Tableau Desktop, Public, Online, Server, and Reader tools that enhance the visualization and sharing of data. This versatility allows it to connect and extract data from a wide array of sources.
Many businesses consider Tableau indispensable for data science-related work largely due to its ability to streamline complex data analysis.
- Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is highly regarded for its comprehensive features and integration with Microsoft products. Its features include real-time dashboards, advanced data modeling, customizable visualizations, and mobile accessibility.
Power BI is user-friendly, with interactive and dynamic reporting and data analysis capabilities. It’s ideal for midsize to large businesses, especially those within the Microsoft ecosystem.
- Sisense
Sisense, formerly known as Periscope Data, provides data management and visualization capabilities for business intelligence. Its analytics platform, Sisense Fusion, employs AI and unique technologies like In-Chip™ and Single Stack™ to facilitate the analysis and visualization of large, disparate data sets without requiring IT resources.
Sisense stands out for its ease of setup, rapid data alterations, and updates with a user-friendly interface, making it suitable for various business applications.
- Qlik Sense
Qlik Sense is a self-service BI platform with data discovery and visualization capabilities. It supports a wide range of use cases, from self-service analytics to interactive dashboards empowered by AI-driven insights.
It’s available in various editions and deployable both in-cloud and on-premises. User reviews highlight its adaptability, ease of use, integration capabilities, and the possibility of native customization.
Note: While considering your options, beware of Off-the-Shelf Software pitfalls. Not all data visualization tools will suit your business's needs. While Off-the-shelf software might be convenient, it can sometimes lead to misunderstandings or misinterpretations of data if it's not tailored to the specific context of the business.
Beyond Charts and Graphs: Digital Signage in Data Visualization
Elevating Data Presentation Through Digital Signage
The use of digital screens makes data presentation simply hassle-free. We’re talking about displays that facilitate various content formats, including video, images, animations, and touchscreen interfaces for engaging users with interactive data exploration.
Digital signage software automates the conversion of raw data(from CSV, XML, or JSON files) into visual formats, a process that was once manual and time-consuming. This automation extends to real-time updates to keep information current.
Digital signage for offices makes key performance indicators and other important metrics highly visible and easily understandable. This visibility helps employees understand their contribution to organizational goals and stay informed about any changes in routine processes, resulting in improved productivity and efficiency.
Powering Up with Look DS: Power BI and Google Slides Integration
You can now display Power BI reports in your organization easily with Look Digital Signage Services. Simply log into your Power BI account via the Look CMS and select the necessary workspace and reports you want to display on your screens. Next, configure display settings, such as the display duration of each page and the interval for automatic updates of the Power BI dashboards.
Did we mention that you can also use Google Slides as content for presentations on your digital screens? It includes adding links to presentations, logging in with Google accounts for proper display, setting slide durations, and configuring autoplay and repeat functions. Check out our Google Slides app guide for a detailed step-by-step setup process.
Choose A Data Presentation Tool That Grows With Your Business
Now that you have a full grasp of why data visualization is important, you can’t afford to be careless about your data visualization strategy. On top of choosing the right tool for your visualization needs, you need a data presentation solution that adapts to the needs of your business over time.
Look Digital Signage software provides a user-friendly and adaptable solution for creating, managing, and displaying your data. Try the 14-day trial today and see for yourself.
