SaaS BI - 6 Things to Watch For to Get It Right

More and more businesses are turning to SaaS BI tools to help them make sense of their data – and for good reason:
However, with the growing adoption of multiple SaaS solutions within an organization, effective SaaS management is becoming crucial. Companies need to maintain an accurate inventory of their SaaS subscriptions, ensure they are effectively utilized, and manage renewals to prevent unwanted costs. SaaS management also involves monitoring user access and ensuring data security across all SaaS platforms.
All that said, while SaaS BI tools for data analytics can be very powerful, you need to watch out for a few things if you want to get the most out of them. In this post, we’ll explain the six key points to consider when using such tools. Hopefully, by the end of this post, you’ll have a better understanding of what to look for in a SaaS BI tool and how to make sure you get the most out of it.
Claim your AllActivity
software demo
Ask for a complete 2-month free trial and start achieving better results from the beginning!
One of the key benefits of using SaaS BI tools is the chance to uncover actionable insights that you might not otherwise be able to see. But all too often, dashboards are simply designed to provide a static snapshot of data without any regard for how that data can be used to improve your decision-making. As a result, observers may find it difficult to determine what action should be taken based on the metrics or trends in front of them.
To solve this issue, a good SaaS BI will make it easy to create dashboards designed to either
Such designs can be extremely helpful in improving team performance because everyone you share these insights with will know exactly what needs to be done. For example, if your data shows that a certain product is not being used effectively in a certain department, a recommendation to offer training or support for that product in that particular department can be displayed on the dashboard. There is no need to guess what needs to be done as the dashboard already tells you. This would help ensure that the issue is addressed quickly and effectively.
The central goal, of course, is to make the dashboard as simple as possible. The key is to find the right balance between providing too much information (which can be overwhelming) and not enough information (which can be unhelpful).
When using SaaS BI tools, keep in mind that data changes over time. This means that your dashboards should not be limited to simply showing data snapshots as of a specific point in time. Instead, you need to focus on trend analysis so that you can see how metrics are changing and patterns emerge over time. This will allow you to spot such patterns more easily and make corresponding decisions. For example, only if you notice that a particular metric is trending in an undesired direction, you can take steps to address the issue before it becomes a bigger problem. A snapshot, obviously, does not reveal any such data.
Monitoring changes over time is especially important if you want to use your dashboards for predictive purposes. Without historical data, it’s very difficult to predict what might happen in the future based on current trends. Great SaaS BI tools can help you track changes over time by automatically generating charts, tables, and reports on a regular basis. This can be very valuable for spotting issues and trends early on, so that you can take corrective action before it’s too late.
Another benefit of tracking changes over time is that it can help you identify correlations between different data sets. For example, if you notice that a particular metric is trending downwards while another metric is trending upwards, you might be able to infer that there is a causal relationship between the two. This type of analysis can be useful for uncovering hidden relationships that you might not otherwise have been able to see.
When choosing a SaaS BI tool, look for one that makes it easy to share dashboards and visualizations with other users. Ideally, you should be able to give different levels of access, so that some people can view data while others can also edit and create their own dashboards. This, along with features that enable communication and collaboration on the insights within the team, will help ensure that everyone in your organization is on the same page when it comes to decision-making.
A good SaaS BI tool will also make it easy to share information with other stakeholders outside your team, which can be beneficial in terms of early problem detection. An example of this would be if a salesperson was able to spot a trend of declining repeat business and could then share that information with the customer service team, so they can address the issue. An integrated SaaS BI tool would make it easy to share this information with the customer service team with just a few clicks. In case your SaaS BI tool doesn’t offer this type of functionality, you can always use third-party tools like IFTTT or Zapier to create workflows that will automate the process.
Since SaaS BI tools store your data in the cloud, security is always going to be a concern. Before committing to any particular tool, make sure you do your homework and verify that they have robust security measures in place – both at rest and in transit. In addition, check out their customer reviews/testimonials to see if there have been any reports of security issues or breaches in the past (there shouldn’t be).
Likewise, the location of the data center where your data is stored is important to consider from a security perspective, because data privacy laws vary from country to country. For example, data stored in the European Union is subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and data stored in the United States is subject to the Patriot Act. Once you’ve verified that a SaaS BI tool is secure, make sure you also take steps to secure your data. This includes
Having said that, even if you take all of the necessary security precautions, it’s important to remember that no system is 100% secure. This means that you should always have a backup of your data in case of a security breach. A good SaaS BI tool will offer features like data encryption and data backup to help you protect your data.
It’s important to review your data and insights regularly in order to identify opportunities for improvement. But sometimes you can miss checking your dashboards due to other priorities. This is where email delivery of reports comes in handy. By setting it up, you can receive updates on your data even if you forget to check them manually. Most SaaS BI tools offer this feature as part of their overall functionality, so it should be relatively easy to get set up. A use case would be if you wanted to receive an email every Monday morning with consolidated insights from the previous week. This way, you can start your week off with a clear understanding of what’s going on and where there might be areas of improvement. A surefire way to never miss another opportunity for a business or personal growth!
With that said, it’s important to remember that email delivery is not a substitute for a regular review of your data and insights. Instead, it should be used as a supplement to help you make sure you don’t miss anything important.
While the specific features and functions of different SaaS BI tools will vary, there are some general best practices that you should keep in mind before choosing and implementing a SaaS BI tool:
SaaS BI tools can be incredibly powerful when used correctly. However, there are a few things you need to watch out for if you want to get the most from them. In this blog post, we’ve taken a look at six of the most important things to keep in mind when using SaaS BI tools:
With AllActivity, SaaS users can increase their efficiency by 40-60% by receiving actionable insights into their workflow data. For example, AllActivity can tell them whether they are using company SaaS tools effectively and what actions they can take to rectify the situation. Similarly, AllActivity features sharing insights with your colleagues so that they can avoid potential issues even before they arise. These and many other features help you save time, increase your performance, and generate more value for your business and for your life. So, if you want to improve your productivity (or your lifestyle), try AllActivity for free now!
AllActivity is about to take off!
Be the first to know when AllActivity launches and get your hands on special offers, news, and updates!
Whenever you’re ready…here are 4 ways we can help you increase your productivity, lifestyle & health by embracing automation:
- Claim your AllActivity Software Demo. Ask for a complete 2-month free trial and start achieving better results from the beginning!
- If you’d like to learn how automation and task mining can take your team or organization to the next level, go to our blog or visit our Task Mining section, where you can find our lifestyle calculator and find out how to be more efficient!
- We are hiring! If you are passionate about coding, enjoy new challenges and working in an international team, we are looking for you!
- If you know more people who’d enjoy reading this page, feel free to share it via email, LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter