When it comes to features and functionality, your product may tick all the boxes. But maybe your customers didn’t ask for all those boxes. In fact, maybe all those cool buttons are actually hindering your product’s usability.
That’s because when it comes to SaaS applications, success relies on user adoption. And user adoption relies on user empowerment. Customers look for the value they can get out of your application. Does it truly make them more efficient and productive?
In other words, what matters is the benefit, not the button.
We’ve hit the middle of the summer season. School’s been out for weeks. Temperatures have peaked. And some businesses experience a seasonal slump. But for some, the season provides opportunity. Especially for those who are in the “business of summer” – theme parks, beaches, entertainment, etc. And many of these businesses are using ad hoc data analysis to optimize their operations.
Supply chain management encompasses all activities and processes involved in moving a product from point of origin to point of consumption. As a complex system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources, the supply chain inevitably involves mountains of data on a daily basis. And with retail sales on the rise, the need to integrate a BI and ad hoc reporting tool within the supply chain has never been greater. Read More
What is ad hoc analysis?
Ad hoc analysis is a business intelligence (BI) process in which dynamic business reports are created by users as and when they need it. New reports can be made on-the-fly or users can drill down into existing reports to get more specific details.
An ad hoc analysis using a BI solution allows the user to choose which data sources to pull from and how that data is presented. The top benefit is how customizable it can be, tailoring to each user’s needs. And can be anything from a simple one-off data table to an intricate and informative report using dashboards, maps, and rich visualizations.
What does it mean for businesses?
Ad hoc analysis used to be a long and complicated process involving several resources most organizations would rather utilize elsewhere. Business intelligence solutions changed that by providing ad hoc analysis and reporting as a necessary function of the BI platform.
By streamlining the process, it unloads the burden from IT to create those reports and empowers users to interact with their data as they see fit.
Essential Features of Ad Hoc Analysis and Reporting Tools
Modern ad hoc analysis should be designed to achieve two things: reduce report creation time and expand who is able to create those reports. In other words, it should be responsive and versatile.
A responsive UI is vital to answering questions as quickly as they come, giving your business a competitive edge when it comes to key decision-making. Having a fully-embedded analytics solution ensures a responsive and flexible UI.
A versatile ad hoc analysis tool is one that satisfies the needs of users on both ends of the technical spectrum: the simple user and the advanced user. It needs to have a robust set of customizable features and functions that is intuitive enough for basic report building, and flexible enough for advanced reporting. Essentially, it’s about how adjustable permissions are.
Read more about what an ad hoc reporting tool should be.
What to Expect from your Ad Hoc Analysis and Reporting Tool
With the right platform, any organization within any industry can experience high ROI and growth from real-time ad hoc reports. Rick Stern, president of student registration software Xenegrade, explains the importance of a flexible reporting tool.
“Our customers require the ability to create detailed reports quickly and easily as needs dictate. Xenegrade chose Izenda as our next generation reporting tool because of its flexibility and across-the-board user capabilities.”
It’s no secret that ad hoc reporting can have an enormous impact when implemented correctly. In fact, 92% of top-performing companies say ad hoc reporting improves business performance. But in a crowded market, how can you determine which tool is right for your business?
Start on the right path
Ad hoc analysis should be a quick process, but choosing the right platform shouldn’t be. Do your research. The BI market can be overwhelming, with so many different platforms offering different features, pricing models, and deployments. It can be challenging to find the right fit for your specific organization. And when vetting BI vendors, there’s a lot of questions to ask.
But always consider the ad hoc analysis capabilities a deal-breaker. After all, the more empowered your users, the more empowered your business.
See a demo of Izenda’s fully-embedded analytics platform and ad hoc report builder.
