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Choosing dashboard tools

1. Choosing dashboard tools

It is important to select the right dashboard software that would meet your business needs.

2. How to choose a dashboard software?

Dashboard software is an information management tool that gathers, monitors, and displays business data. Here are some important criteria to consider when choosing dashboard software. Traditional business intelligence software involves the Business Intelligence or IT team performing the data analysis by request.

3. How to choose a dashboard software?

Self-service applications allow users to create and access their dashboards without the need for technical support.

4. How to choose a dashboard software?

The are two main types of access management: a cloud-based application and on-premises infrastructure.

5. How to choose a dashboard software?

There are several licensing models: open source, a free proprietary model with a limited version of full functionalities, and a proprietary license (full version paid as license or subscription fees).

6. How to choose a dashboard software?

Dashboard interfaces can be built using drag-and-drop functionalities or using web frameworks.

7. Drag-and-drop dashboard applications

Many dashboard applications provide drag-and-drop functionalities, such as Tableau and Power BI. One of the most obvious benefits is they do not require coding knowledge which makes it easy for non-technical users to create, modify, and share dashboards. On the other hand, users may have partial control over customization, data integration, and hosting.

8. Dashboard frameworks

There are several dashboard frameworks. Dash by Plotly and Streamlit are python-based solutions and Shiny is an R-based dashboard framework. These dashboard frameworks require technical background and allow users full control over design, data, and deployment.

9. Top dashboard software: market share and interest

To determine the top dashboard software from both the buyer and provider perspectives, we combined the results from two surveys TrustRadius and Gartner. The results showed that Microsoft Power BI is the most widely used software, offering seamless integration with other Microsoft products. Tableau offers both desktop and server options, with popular desktop software and the ability to share dashboards through the Tableau Public gallery. Qlik Sense offers both cloud-based and desktop options and can be integrated with other cloud services, providing users with flexibility in their data visualization needs. SAP Analytics Cloud is a cloud-based software that offers the unique feature of integrating planning with analytics, as well as integration with other cloud services.

10. Let's practice!

Let's review the best practices for selecting a dashboard software.