Jayesh Matani referred this article in Optimize on the value of the digital dashboard:
In the complex, internetworked, overlapping, and multitier reality of today’s global business environment, information is routinely delayed, distorted, incomplete, or simply never reaches its destination. This may seem surprising, given that most information already resides in databases, data warehouses, or data marts that should be immediately accessible. But most databases become “islands of integration” where the information workflow required to make decisions demands unnatural acts of systems and applications integration. That’s because we typically integrate applications according to how they interface with one another, rather than how a particular data item might be routed throughout a company and used by business managers.
Enter the digital dashboard–also called the digital cockpit–for global management. It’s a graphical depiction of real-time business performance from far-flung operations. Most companies practice global-business management as a series of snapshots: Here’s a report on last week’s sales, or these are our accounts-payable positions as of last month, or that’s what our customer surveys indicated two months ago. In contrast, the dashboard provides a continuous stream of such information. Time is its most important element. This “now” view of the business effectively lets managers make decisions instantly, not in delayed mode.
