Business Data Visualization had been around in one form or another for a very long time. We’ve graduated from pie charts, however, to the precision and scope afforded by big data. This vast pool of data and the small pools within your business are best understood through data visualization. Data visualization is a key part of business intelligence, and it impacts every part of a company, from the ground up. It can simplify work, improve cognitive retention, boost communication efficiency, and even improve the work of top decision makers.
When your eyes skim over numbers, it’s difficult for your brain to recognize the differences those digits represent. Data visualization boosts cognitive function. This includes vital tools like memory. It’s almost always easier for the brain to retain images rather than numbers. When you look at visualized data, you can spot trends, trouble areas, and areas of potential with much less work than a simple spreadsheet would allow. Although there will always be a place for hard numbers, that place is much narrower than you may believe. Visualized data sticks and sparks creative thinking. A sheet of numbers simply does not.
Business meetings are never easy, but they don’t have to be as pointless and boring as pop culture makes them out to be. Presenters need to remember that the numbers they present are data sets they’ve worked with intimately for days, weeks, or even months beforehand. The audience doesn’t have that luxury. In order to get your point across quickly and efficiently, you need data visualization. After all, a business meeting is ideally about sharing and developing ideas. Since big data visualization is far better at promoting a creative thought process than black digits on a white screen, it is the best way to present information to your colleagues.
Decision makers have a lot of responsibilities, and they can’t always spend as much time wrestling with a particular data set as they might like. Data visualization presents the same information in a more manageable, and actionable, format. For most, it’s easier to understand what is seen than understand what is read, especially when racing a deadline. By giving decision makers the tools they need to make rapid decisions without compromising research or the quality of data provided, you give your business an advantage. Freeing up time at the top of a business’s chain of command improves decision makers’ ability to develop and grow the business. Without this advantage, decision makers are caught in an endless loop of reactions rather than decisions.
Data visualization software gives businesses the tools they need to keep abreast of the rapidly shifting information provided by big business. It’s a simpler, more efficient means of communication, and time is everything. Don’t forget that it supports memory and creativity, two other vital business traits. As big data continues to grow and dominate business culture, data visualization will only become more important.