Initially, it’s important to understand the difference between the most commonly used terms; real-time, dynamic and reports.
Although both show you historical information on multiple important KPIs, the main difference between dynamic dashboards and reports is that dynamic dashboards are interactive. To be more specific, with dynamic dashboards, users can connect and feed from different data sources, and click on different charts and graphs with the information updating almost immediately, thanks to customizable filters.
Depending on the source of data, we could divide the dashboards into two groups:
- Dynamic dashboards: are the most used and normally have a delay in updating the information of 1 or 2 days depending on the data source.
- Real-time dashboards: have all the attributes mentioned above but display information for the current day, reducing the waiting time to view current information. For this reason, if dashboards are already a great tool, real-time dashboards can help you take that extra step to achieve the competitive advantage you are looking for.
Real-Time Dashboards
A real-time dashboard is a visualization tool automatically updated with the latest available information. It can provide you with valuable information for your company, area, or specific project.
They combine historical data and up-to-date information so that you can identify emerging trends and monitor the efficiency of your business. One of its great advantages is that you can perform complex calculations directly in the tool and visualize the results, which are supported by feeding from different sources (databases located locally or in the cloud).
These dashboards usually contain information on traffic volume and sales. However, they can be customized to contain just the information that will generate the most value for your business, depending on your objective.
Key Benefits
- Analysis time optimization. You have at your fingertips and at the moment the most relevant information to make decisions
- Real-time information. You create the ability to analyze information almost immediately after it has been processed. You can stay ahead of your competitors by identifying patterns and trends faster.
- Access from anywhere at any time. You and your team have access to it from your computer or cell phone 24 hours a day.
Dashboard targets
Here are some of the types of useful boards you can find:
Analytical objective: This is the most used dashboard. It can attach a large volume of information, allowing you to identify trends, predict results, and set goals based on data. They are very flexible for any purpose; you can make a comparison in an A/B Test or analyze at the first level the traffic and transactions on your site to something as deep as measuring the efficiency of an algorithm that allows you to generate custom audiences or infer the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) of each of your channels.
Operating dashboard: This dashboard allows you to keep track of metrics on the back-end. It benefits you when you are implementing your website, as it allows you to have a close follow-up of each of the events you are tagging and thus be able to quickly identify in case an error occurs. It can also help you identify load times (metrics not directly related to the business) that will be useful to the engineering team to optimize the site.
Do not underestimate the advantages that incorporating a real-time dashboard can give you to your business, especially in the lead up to events like #ElBuenFin, where being reactive and timely is worth its weight in gold!
Prepare in advance, ensuring you collect the right information to make the most of your data in a real-time dashboard. Consider incorporating new tools into your analytics that will allow you to stand out and exponentiate your business. To find out how Incubeta can help, get in touch today.