I was talking to a friend the other day and she shared with me her experience at a recent business intelligence conference. She was a bit confused by some of the terminology and we spent a few minutes parsing the terms and talking about the concept of self-serve data preparation. She was confused by the fact that self-serve data prep and augmented data preparation are often mentioned in the same discussion.
Exactly what is smart data visualization? Are we now dependent on a computer or a piece of software to decide how we see our data? Have we lost control of our reporting, data sharing and data views? The answer to those questions: a resounding ‘NO’. To understand smart visualization, let’s consider the old, traditional data visualization tools. Traditional data visualization is static and, while it may offer a choice of graphs and displays, it is not interactive. In other words, it is not smart. In the traditional scenario, visual illustrations, graphs, and displays are not useful. They don’t help business users to analyze and understand data or, more importantly, to choose the right method to display and report data for decision-making. The right view of data can make all the difference!
The Gartner Magic Quadrant is a well-known report and tool both for vendors and for prospective customers. The Gartner Business Intelligence Magic Quadrant offers in-depth analysis of the current market and predictions of where the market is going. There is no doubt that the Business Intelligence market has moved toward Advanced Data Discovery tools and self-serve tools like Self-Serve Data Preparation, and Plug n’ Play Predictive Analysis.
Imagine if your advanced data discovery tool could take the guesswork out of data preparation and visualization and allow your business users to see past the obvious to find the true insight and subtle patterns, trends and data that will help your business to achieve success. Features like smart data visualization make it easy to see what is happening, where the source of a problem lies and what market opportunities may be ripe for the taking.
If you have heard of Augmented Data Discovery (aka Smart Data Discovery), but you don’t quite understand what it is and its value to average business, then we really need to talk!
Data preparation tools come in many shapes and sizes and not all are equal. If your business is interested in implementing a self-serve environment where its business users can become a greater asset to the organization, and use data preparation for analytics, you definitely need to consider ease-of-use for your users and flexibility, sophisticated functionality and mobile accessibility for the good of the organization.
There are many facets to Advanced Data Discovery. The processes are sophisticated and the algorithms are exacting, but your business users need not worry about those things. To make the best use of augmented data discovery tools, you need to implement an advanced analytics solution that gives your team sophisticated tools and true insight into data, with flexible, personalized dashboards, and reporting that are easy enough for the average user to adopt.
There are numerous considerations when a business looks at upgrading or acquiring an analytical solution. One very important capability is Put n’ Play predictive analysis. Assisted Predictive Modeling and predictive analysis tools should include sophisticated functionality in a simple environment that is easy for every business user.
Organizations that are currently considering and upgrade or a new business intelligence solution, should focus on advanced analytics capability that is simple enough for its business users to improve accountability and empowerment and cascade information throughout the organization to improve planning, results and competitive advantage. Included in this solution is Smart Data Visualization. This feature suggests the best options for visualizing and plotting for a particular set or type of data, based on the nature, dimensions and trend of data. Tools like these can allow the average business user to leverage sophisticated tools without the knowledge and skill of an IT pro or a data scientist.
Advanced Data Discovery allows business users to perform early prototyping and to test hypothesis without the skills of a data scientist. Advanced Data Discovery ensures data democratization and can drastically reduce the time and cost of analysis and experimentation.
