For any business, data and data interpretation plays a crucial role. There are many key learnings about a business hidden in the data, which needs to be interpreted in the right way. To do so, there are data visualization tools.
The search for the right data visualization software is a tiring one. Data, unless used in the right manner can become burdensome really quickly and to do so a good data visualization software is needed. With countless business intelligence and analytics software tools in the market, it becomes difficult to differentiate, compare and analyze all of them.
That is why we have compiled a list of some of the top data visualization tools in this article.
What is Business Intelligence and Data Visualization Software?
But first, let’s begin with understanding what exactly is data visualization software. Data visualization software or dashboard tools interpret numbers and information, translates it into a visual approach by converting it into charts, tables, graphs and more. It’s, therefore, no surprise that we prefer colors, objects and images more than numbers and that’s why data visualization tools do what they do.
They convert large data inputs and present it in a graphical medium to help businesses make data-driven decisions faster and more efficiently. The data visualization software is often integrated with an underlying system that feeds it the data to be analyzed, reported and measured against KPIs to translate it in a visual manner.
This makes understanding difficult concepts or hard to interpret data easier. It relies on input through the integrated system or software in order for it to translate and present the data in a visual manner.
Why Does My Business Need Data Visualization Software
There are many reasons as to why we should make use of data visualization software and data analytics software. The most important one is easy and quick comprehension of data, also known as data analytics. The cohesive and easily interpreted translation of data enables businesses to act on it quickly. Analyzing statistics and information in a graphical format shortens the decision-making time. It also helps identify and recognize patterns that are otherwise difficult to pinpoint.
There are certain parameters that are easy to identify and group together when presented in a visual form, as opposed to a numerical or textual manner. Data visualizations can aid in spotting problems or trends before they catch on. When represented graphically, pitfalls are easier to discover and act upon and in a similar fashion, trends are easier to spot. Acting fast on trends or possible discrepancies can affect the bottom line and make all the difference in running a business.
One underrated benefit of data visualization is the ease of communication that it provides, whether internal or external. The visual cues provided by data visualization tools make communication of data and insights easier between internal and external consumers. For businesses with various teams, this reduces the chances of misinterpretation and makes internal communication easier and more efficient.
Common Misperceptions Of Data Visualization Tools
A common misperception is that you need big data in order to benefit from data visualization. On the contrary, any sized business, from a one-person shop to a mega-enterprise can benefit from business intelligence software and analytics software to glean insights from your source data. The key is to have important data to visualize, it doesn’t have to be tons of it.
A data visualization tool provides the right balance between effective communication and visual representation and in doing so makes it easier for businesses to operate and manage key factors. It allows your business to be data driven.
What Is The Best Software For Data Visualization?
In order to help with the research and comparison process for the right data visualization software, we’ve pulled together a list of the best data visualization tools based on research and reviews by existing users. The unbiased reviews that you, our readers, contribute will help understand the data visualization tools better and help with studying the key differences between them.
We like to caution that any list of the top data visualization tools or best visualization software is missing one key ingredient and that is your user requirements. Without understanding more of your use case, such as the type of analysis your business needs to do, specific visualization methods you need, your pricing constraints, the advanced and key features you need from a solution, any list is just a research tool.
So our concept of best data visualization tools is not just the ones that are the best in making money, or best in size, or best in marketing and industry analyst press and coverage. But it’s the ones that we feel are best for the common use cases of data visualization in terms of functionality, features, cost, and total cost of ownership. This includes modern software, tools that are actively developed, visualizations much be interactive, they must be simple to create, ideally offer real-time data analysis. We have looked at demos of traditional and newer visualization tools and while not all made this list, at a later date we will list more in a secondary list of data visualization software options.
Choosing a visualization tool is tough, so without further ado, here is a list of our 8 best data visualization tools for businesses today. Without a doubt, Tableau and Power BI tops our data visualization list, but there are many other options to choose from.
Learn more about the types of visualization solutions available and find the one that may be the best visualization software for your business.
Note: There are micro-niches within the category of data visualization that you can also check out. Please see our reviews of best free data analytics software, best open source bi software, best enterprise BI tools, and best self service BI solutions.
