Displaying big data with compelling reporting tools

Big data analytics are becoming increasingly popular in organizations as they look to improve their processes and create reports with actionable insights. During presentations and meetings, its integral to have the right information on hand to engage key stakeholders and make informed business decisions that will positively influence profitability. As data becomes more critical to company processes, it will be crucial to present the metrics in a way that everyone can understand and ensure that stakeholders are updated on a consistent basis.

Having a massive amount of information is typically overwhelming for many viewers, but with reporting tools, organizations can dissect pieces of data and create a comprehensive document of prevailing trends and accompanying images. The information only has value when it's utilized effectivelyand is delivered in a compelling form, and this effort requires knowledgeable personnel to handle the tools, siliconANGLE contributor Bert Latamore noted. Data scientists are becoming top priorities for enterprise talent searches as big data requires technical skills and training to create a successful analytics environment. Developers must be able to make user-friendly interfaces and decrease the learning processes needed to manage infrastructure. However, data scientists aren't just staff available for the technical aspects of the analytics process, they have the capabilities needed for displaying information and conveying important trends.

"Their responsibility is first to identify the use cases that will provide the most value from Big Data for their organization," Latamore wrote. "Then they must identify the relevant data types and design and complete the analysis. Finally, and perhaps most important, they must present the results of their analysis to business decision makers in a compelling form."

Using ad hoc reporting
Once an organization has the necessary personnel who are capable of maintaining a big data environment, it's then time to decide what tools to use to analyze the information. In a piece for Examiner, business analyst Frank Poladi noted that ad hoc reporting can generate detailed documents after the fact to make forecasts and identify trends, but if management is not using the tools proactively, they will not realize the benefits they expect. An ad hoc report designer will be highly specialized and will take place as needed rather than on a regular basis. This practice will allow for precise statistics and more defined trend indicators that can be leveraged for business growth. When it comes time to generate a report, software will often have ad hoc features or Java tools built into it, which will allow the staff to fine-tune the results and ensure that they have the data they need to inform stakeholders on crucial areas and relevant issues.

"No matter what type of data you need to analyze, Java reporting tools can help you find potential customers, identify trends, create sales forecasts and much more," Poladi wrote. "The ease of use and flexibility of ad hoc reporting make it a vital tool to put into the hands of your team."