The last reason customers opt for a desktop dashboard is to consolidate key metrics. We hear from a number of people that they have databases, portals, online systems, and external data, but do not know how to provide a simple view of all that information to the people that need it without cluttering everything up. Their challenge is how to bring this data into a simple, easily used interface. Klipfolio Dashboard can pull the data from almost any kind of online or network data source and put it in a consistent interface that allows people to compare it. Many web based-dashboards use a page or tab-centric way of displaying data but with a desktop dashboard you can see the data without having to change tabs or screens to view the information side by side.
LW: Why have you chosen your vertical focus to be IT, Sales, and Marketing?
AW: We have a number of sweet spots that we try to align with customer needs and customer challenges. First and foremost, we look at how frequently our customer’s data is changing. A desktop dashboard lends itself well if change occurs within a day or less. If the data is only changing once a week or once a month then it’s getting outside of where a desktop dashboard would provide value. Therefore, the first criterion is that the data needs to be changing regularly.
The second criterion is important or critical data – if there is information easily accessed somewhere else or isn’t going to be essential to an end users then maybe it shouldn’t be on the desktop. If you have a sidebar on the right side of your computer, you basically have a fifth or a sixth of your desktop real estate that you are playing with – this mandates that customers have to choose the most important information to put on the desktop. We’re finding that when our customers go through the exercise of identifying “what is the key data?” and more importantly “what is not important for employees to see?” the value of the dashboard is immediate.
The third criterion is data that comes from multiple data sources. If the data is disparate or if it takes users a long time to assemble the information into a single report or if it’s difficult to access the information, then a dashboard that can automate the manual effort is a strong win. For example the user does not have to open a web browser, log on, download the information to Excel to analyze, etc.
These sweet spots that we focus on tend to include sales, where many important metrics are being measured and updated hourly. This is also applicable to helpdesk, support or operations groups where they are looking at call volume, open tickets, SLA, staff changes, inventories, etc. These are the areas that are most applicable to having a desktop dashboard.
LW: Do you feel that you have additional expertise within operational style dashboards, alerts, and performance management because of your focus on these areas?
AW: Absolutely, we’ve been thinking dashboards for the last eight years. Even internally we have tied in processes and use of dashboards that we can’t live without. One of these is sales, so all of our sales data through our CRM is going through Klipfolio – it allows us to react more quickly and aligns what we say our goals should be with what we do every morning.
Fundamentally, the philosophy is that corporate goals will not be met if they are not visible and being measured against. Without actively monitoring these, you are not aligning goals with actions – and until the next quarterly review the company is flying blind.
LW: What do you think is essential for potential buyers to know about Klipfolio?
AW: It’s important to realize that Klipfolio is incredibly powerful – it can really tap into almost any type of data – external or internal data, web-based, CSV or flat files. Klipfolio can tap into multiple sources and transform that data into simple and meaningful information on the desktop.
Klipfolio is also a very customizable and powerful platform for customers to integrate with their own systems and processes. We have a lot of internal expertise in terms of development and identifying how the data should actually present itself on the desktop. For instance, what type of metrics, ratios, and visualizations should be used to best present and make this information actionable. In essence if an organization is struggling with application adoption, data visibility, or real time data, they need a desktop application.
About the Author
Lyndsay Wise is an industry analyst for business intelligence. For over seven years, she has assisted clients in business systems analysis, software selection and implementation of enterprise applications. Lyndsay is the channel expert for BI for the Mid-Market at B-eye-Network and conducts research of leading technologies, products and vendors in business intelligence, marketing performance management, master data management, and unstructured data. She can be reached at lwise@wiseanalytics.com. And please visit Lyndsay's blog at myblog.wiseanalytics.com.
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