Building Insight with a Business Performance

Good decision making is the key to business survival in these turbulent economic times (Colbert, 2009). In turn, production of accurate, relevant, and timely information is the foundation of good decisions (Turban, 2011). Information is defined to be the result of processing raw data in a manner that gives them meaning for the recipient. Therefore, raw data together with necessary tools to convert them into useful information have the most efficient and effective impact on delivering a high-value business performance.

Unfortunately, organizations large and small today are drowning in data but poor in information. Jason Burby, Director of Web Analytics, ZAAZ Consulting Agency, says, “Rarely do I see a client who doesn’t have enough data, especially web data. It is widely available. Yet, people are overwhelmed with it.” According to a recent study, 75% of data-rich marketers are dissatisfied with their ability to measure performance and have a difficult time making data-driven decisions (Kaushik, 2010).

Data is not always collected, aggregated, or displayed in a manner that facilitates understanding or decision-making. To make good decisions with limited available resources, organizations need modern tools that promote forward thinking and help make sense of all the disparate fragments of raw data. Consequently, dashboards have become a popular means to present visual displays of important information. In fact, a car dashboard serves as a metaphor for the digital business performance dashboard with all the gauges and warning signals in a relatively small space. Dashboard technology, when well-designed, can help consolidate data in meaningful ways so it is clear, consistent, and accessible in an appropriate format (Baskett et al., 2008). In an increasingly complex business environment, dashboards empower a rapid understanding of business performance because they help track critical business data in an easy to understand and timely manner. Before the dashboards,...