5 Best Data Visualization Tools on the Market

We live in the world of Big Data, which means that businesses today have access to more valuable information than ever before. However, as managers sit through mountains of data looking for actionable information, they can easily become overwhelmed. Data visualization tools make large amounts of data easy to interpret.

People naturally gravitate to pictures, so they can learn more from a chart or graph then they can from a collection of raw data.

Data visualization tools help companies render information in graphical formats from various perspectives. As a result, businesses can quickly interpret the data they have in ways that support good decision-making and help them achieve their goals. For example, they can find cost-cutting opportunities or identify procedural bottlenecks that, when addressed, will improve profitability.

To help you make data visualization work for you, here is a list of 5 best data visualization tools available on the market:

1. Tableau Desktop

As a longtime leader in the self-service business intelligence market, Tableau Desktop supplies numerous visualizations for a large number of supported data types. The professional version sells for $1999 per named user for a perpetual license. It can connect to 44 different data sources. The application also supports local saving and sharing and can be used with Tableau Server and Tableau Online.

When you use Tableau Desktop, you use your mouse to drag and drop elements to a digital workspace. Features that are not directly accessible by the mouse are found in convenient drop-down menus, making the process of building a visualization easier than you might expect. The app also has a visual storyboard editor that produces live charts.

One of the biggest advantages of Tableau Desktop is its usability. Practically anyone on your team can use the application unit even if they don’t have coding experience.

2. Informer

Businesses love Informer because it makes business intelligence practical and easy to use. The application features a drag-and-drop interface and interactive dashboards, working perfectly in a self-service environment. Users can apply “on-the-fly” data filtering to answer questions in real time. In addition, the app’s drill down features and multidimensional analysis enable thorough data evaluations.

Informer Dashboards is a feature that turns real-time information into visualizations. The feature simplifies the monitoring of key performance indicators and enables your team to share interactive customizable graphs and charts. The web-based reporting environment supplied by Informer makes it easily accessible to remote and mobile users as well as to office-based employees.

You can sign up for a 30 day Informer trial that includes a free consultation that will help you get started with the application. Your implementation consultant will also be able to supply you with a custom price quote.

3. Power BI

Microsoft’s Power BI provides a suite of business analytics and data visualization features that allow you to explore your data more efficiently. The application uses an interface that is consistent with other Microsoft products, making the learning curve soft. In addition, Power BI dashboards work on practically any device, so all your traditional and remote employees can benefit from it.

Highlights of Power BI include a unified dashboard that displays data for your whole business. Also, the tool has a visual report builder that you can use to create and share interactive reports.

Both the Windows and online versions of Power BI simplify the creation of graphs, charts and other visualizations, allowing you to quickly build and display your data sets. The application has high usability ratings and you can choose from a gallery of Power BI custom visualizations maintained by Microsoft.

You can sign up for Power BI and use it for free.

4. iDashboards

iDashboards is another self-service data visualization tool that lets you easily build engaging visuals and revise them as the needs of your business change.

The application features a programming-free dashboard that uses visual elements and a drag-and-drop interface to combine multiple data sources. You can access the application’s dashboards from your desktop or mobile device as real-time data connections keep you up to date with the performance of your organization.

Additional options that are available with iDashboards include wall display, an unlimited number of viewers, and a data integrator. Also, you can get support, training and other services directly from the developer. Four levels of pricing begin with a free personal version and scale to an enterprise version that costs $39.95 monthly per user.

5. Dundas BI

When you choose Dundas BI, you get a browser-based business intelligence tool and a data visualization platform. The application supplies you with integrated dashboards, data analytics and reports that you can use to analyze and explore your business.

Dundas BI features a touch-based interface that gives users the ability to create visuals on any desktop or mobile device. In addition, the application can connect to practically any data source in real time using a programmable API. You can run the software either on-site or in the cloud.

Pricing for Dundas BI varies based on the needs of your business. The software can be licensed for internal and external users. Also, you can choose whether to acquire licenses that are tied to specific users or shared among concurrent connections. The flexible licensing and pricing available from Dundas BI means that you must talk with one of their consultants to get a price quote.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, most people learn visually and prefer images to strings of numbers or words. Data visualization tools allow businesses to create compelling visualizations in order to simplify data analysis and monitoring. There are numerous business intelligence and data visualization tools available on the market today. Finding one that best suits your business will require some research, but it will definitely be worth it.