Entry level begets entry level, so if you want your organisation to stand out among its competitors, it may well be time to ditch the dashboard 101 approach for a more informed understanding of what this comprehensive solution can do for you.
So said Synergy Business Intelligence principal consultant Gill Staniland as the company launched its “Dashboards that mean business” eBook - a free resource that shares valuable insights, techniques and considerations to assist users in the design of engaging, business-relevant dashboards.
“In the past few years, the term 'dashboards' has become synonymous with BI, but we still come across users who haven't left the starting blocks in their journey into the full scope of what dashboards have to offer,” said Staniland.
“At the heart of our business lies our ability to turn data into information. It sounds simple enough, but more often than not this poses a real challenge. Multiple data sources, complex data structures, unreliable data, apathetic users, failing technology and unrealistic expectations are just some of the factors complicating the delivery of accurate, reliable information when it is needed most.”
Staniland was tasked with the compilation of a resource to help overcome these challenges, drawing on many years of collaboration with business and IT executives.
“We are confident that this mini-guide to creating corporate dashboards will put users ahead in the quest to obtain 24/7 intuitive information about their business. The eBook is the first key to unlocking dashboards' full potential, and is but the first of numerous useful pieces of collateral we will share with users over the next few weeks and months, taking them from 'dashboard 101' to 'master class' status.”
Sharing this sentiment, Synergy BI managing director, Christo Bredenkamp, said the idea of upping users' dashboards - and, by implication, business intelligence skills - was birthed as a result of what his team perceived to be a general lack of understanding of both the fundamentals of BI, and the potential it has to transform an organisation.
“We have noticed, particularly in the last 18 to 24 months, a greater awareness of the strategic value of data. However, realising this asset requires skill, consistency, accuracy and experience, and it is this package that we are hoping to deliver through the eBook and subsequent insights.”
Dashboard users can download the eBook from www.synergy.co.za, and by subscribing to a series of follow-up interactions, share in further learning to optimise their dashboarding, as well as their entire BI experience.
“Since starting BI implementations more than 20 years ago, we have seen most of the common mistakes made by dashboard and BI professionals. It's from this wealth of experience that we've drawn to create this eBook.
“But, we don't want to stop there: later in the year we will present a series of practical hands-on BI master classes, details of which will be released closer to the time. Suffice to say that these will be events not be missed by anyone who is serious about getting all they can from business intelligence,” said Bredenkamp.
Synergy BI, comprising 85 people with offices in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, is increasingly looked to by companies to assist them with the formulation and execution of a comprehensive information delivery strategy.
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