How to Use Dashboards for Data Collaboration

I remember my first group assignment in college. We had to write a report and email everyone for every little change that any of us thought was necessary. Add to that the universal caveat of forgetting to attach files, and we were often left with a lack of information.

When we finally started to use Google Docs, all our jobs were made incredibly easier. It was then that everyone could gather their information on a single page. We were able to work on the report and make changes simultaneously.

Albeit a simple example with not many moving parts, this was a great application of data collaboration. Now, when we’re talking about companies, there are different departments, companies or customers instead of the teammates that I was dealing with. Also, in place of our research, there’s critical organizational data that has the power to make or break strategies. 

That must’ve given you a bit of an idea of how important data collaboration really is in the business world. But how effective can it really be for businesses and what’s the best approach to go about data collaboration? 

Let’s get down to the basics.

What is data collaboration?

In its simplest terms, data collaboration is the process of consolidating and sharing information between different companies, employees or stakeholders. This process involves combining datasets from sales, marketing and customer service. For example, product teams can improve products more efficiently according to users’ expectations by collaborating with the data gathered from marketing teams. This not only helps businesses ensure everyone’s on the same page but also allows them to communicate better and share their insights.

Benefits of a collaborative approach to data

According to a study by Ventana Research, almost 40% of companies use data collaboration for their analytics processes. More than half plan to leverage data collaboration in the future.

So what does data collaboration promise, and what value do all these companies find in this process?

To answer that, let’s look at some data collaboration benefits.

Discover and use hidden data

Datasets are often spread across a company. If teams aren’t leveraging data collaboration, they may miss out on key opportunities that may not be apparent to them at first glance.

Data collaboration enables departments in the company to incorporate data from different departments into their analytics processes. For example, customer success teams can take advantage of valuable information hidden in their CRM. In this way, you can have in-depth knowledge of customer behavior.

Find the correct answers

Without data collaboration, it becomes difficult for domain experts to participate in the business processes. Data analysts may be able to access data, but they may not see the hidden implications behind it, resulting in incorrect decisions.

On the other hand, data collaboration provides a comprehensive data repository from which they can generate the necessary insights. In this way, different departments are involved in data analysis and can intervene to resolve possible errors.

Accelerate the speed of insights

Imagine a company that doesn’t have unified data and is struggling with many information gaps. Functional teams at this company will inevitably have trouble communicating as they each have a different version of data to refer to. These teams may not be able to leverage their data to the fullest and may even end up with incorrect insights. 

Data collaboration means everyone uses a single unified data repository to get results. This aligns everyone’s perspective. So all teams can generate consistent and valuable insights as quickly as possible.

Remember: Opportunities are often only beneficial when seized at the right time. That’s why speed means so much to your company’s success. Leveraging data collaboration makes it easier to spot the right opportunities promptly and take action.

How can data collaboration help your company stand out?

Companies and their mantras are constantly changing and evolving. Using dashboards for data collaboration gives data-driven organizations a competitive advantage. According to research by Gartner, organizations promoting data sharing and collaboration will achieve much higher business success by 2023 than their competitors.

Here are some ways in which data collaboration can help:

Promotes Customer-centricity

According to a study by Salesforce, 66% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs. Also, 55% expect companies to customize their offerings anyway.

But how will you meet these expectations?

This is where customer segmentation comes into play. Segmenting your customers helps you understand the expectations of each of your customers. You can offer personalized solutions that will win over your customers. 

With data collaboration, you can get a comprehensive view of your customer data from different departments. This way, you won’t miss any data about your customers’ habits and behavior. With complete information about your customers and what they’re expecting, you can improve customer segmentation and deliver enhanced experiences.

The growing need for data collaboration in the modern workplace

Let’s say you make an important decision about your product strategy. On what basis do you make this decision?

For successful companies in today’s business world, the answer to this question is not simply based on intuition. Of course, intuition is also essential, but the backbone of most strategies today is data.

Today, each department produces and stores large amounts of data in a short amount of time. Managing these vast amounts of data can be difficult, however, if you can’t manage this data correctly, the inevitable, unfortunate result is data silos.

Data silos are much more common among modern-day businesses than you might think. In fact, according to a survey by ARM and Treasure Data, 54% of companies consider data silos to be their biggest obstacle when using data. 47% say their data are in silos and very difficult to access.

So what does this lead to?

One of the main problems caused by data silos is lack of storage space. When data is stored in a silo, different teams can store the same datasets over and over. Similarly, since teams cannot access information that other teams store, they may not use that data. 

According to Forrester, companies don’t use 60% to 73% of their data for analytics. This does not only mean that you’re wasting a significant amount of storage space but you’re also potentially losing out on very important insights.

Another problem caused by data silos is that they negatively affect the cooperation within the company. Modern workplaces support collaborative work and cross-functional collaboration. Data silos set sharp limits on the data to which each team has access. Therefore, it creates fragmented organizations.

You see, data silos are terrible, but with data collaboration, it is possible to overcome them. The primary purpose of data collaboration is to share and combine data from different sources. This gives the data a unified view and helps you avoid data silos.

How business intelligence dashboards can promote data collaboration

Business intelligence dashboards are the BI solution you need to visualize and track your data. It allows you to combine and visualize all information, graphics and actions in one view. These dashboards are an integral part of an organization’s business intelligence strategies.

BI dashboards significantly facilitate data collaboration between departments. A BI dashboard allows you to consolidate and track all company data in a single dashboard. So you can effortlessly view all data unified.

Gathering data in a single dashboard accelerates data-driven decision-making and generating insights. You can quickly review data in real-time and make timely decisions that meet market expectations.

BI dashboards don’t just let you consolidate data. It also allows you to access all the data you need anytime, anywhere. BI platforms are built in the cloud. So whether you’re in your office or presenting to a client, you have instant access to data from anywhere. This feature is also a lifesaver for organizations where working from home is common.

Embrace data collaboration with HockeyStack

HockeyStack has many features to facilitate data collaboration. Let’s take a look at them.

Unified View

HockeyStack allows you to consolidate your data from different departments and websites into a single tool within minutes. All you have to do is add a line of code to your website and product, and voila! You’re ready to track every single action of your users, including clicks and page views, from a single platform.

Easy-to-use and comprehensive dashboards

HockeyStack does not only allow you to consolidate data for collaboration but also create dashboards and reports for meaningful insights. In this way, you can visualize all the metrics you need from churn rate to MRR in a single dashboard.

If you’re new to creating dashboards and have no idea where to start, don’t worry! HockeyStack offers many different templates that you can use. You can choose the one that best suits your needs from these templates and customize them as needed.

Integrations

Data collaboration is about consolidating data and making it available for all stakeholders. This can be a bit challenging as companies may need different tools for many various teams and departments, from CRM to email marketing tools. 

HockeyStack, however, solves these problems with the numerous integration possibilities it offers. With HockeyStack, you can easily prevent data silos by gathering data from all these platforms under one roof.

Start unifying your data today for data collaboration and to reap the full benefits of accurate and up to date data.

FAQs

 What is collaborative data analysis? 

Collaborative analytics uses a combination of business intelligence software and collaboration tools so people in an organization and beyond can participate in data analytics. 

What is collaboration in business intelligence?

Collaborative business intelligence is when an organization leverages the integration of business intelligence and collaborative tools to make more consistent business decisions.