We all know the power of compelling images. According to LinkedIn infographics are shared three times more on social media than documents. Why? Because visual information is processed faster than text, sticks in the mind and is often far more effective in creating perceptual understanding. This last point, in particular, is why so many businesses have embraced visual analytics. Often, this is in the form of BI software, however, more and more companies are realising the power of graph technology and opting for what some providers call a ‘graph intelligence platform’ instead.
The final picture
Visual analytics facilitates the combination, exploration, manipulation and representation of multi-sourced complex data sets in a perceptually comprehensible way. It identifies trends and patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed, especially in big data, and highlights important elements required for decision-making.
Underlying analytical processes are used to convert data into understandable representations that can be disseminated as actionable intelligence to relevant role-players for implementation. The same data set can also be examined from a variety of perspectives to inspect specific data points and gain essential insights. Using intuitive dashboards, personnel can mine big data and investigate emerging events without the need for data science experience. This ease with which data can be accessed and manipulated to promote clarity and produce real business value provides a dynamic competitive edge for any organisation.
Pieces of the puzzle
However, the accuracy and efficacy of visual analytics relies heavily on the quality of your data input. If you’re not collating all your data, you will have an incomplete picture on which to base those important decisions. For example, if third party providers (e.g. suppliers or distributers) influence purchasing behaviour then that information offers crucial insight into aspects such as supply fluctuations affecting the selection on offer for customer ordering. So that latest spike on a particular product isn’t necessarily a true reflection of consumer desire but rather of availability and convenience. If it’s a global product shortage then the replacement will work but if it’s a supplier issue, your customers will quickly switch to a company that can fulfil their needs. Knowing the difference helps you pre-empt an increase in churn rates and continue providing excellent service.
Gathering data is just the beginning though. Fundamentally, the ability to process, store, graph, query, analyse and then disseminate timely and insightful output determines data’s true worth. If you have a third party visual analytics tool, then you are responsible for prepping this input data – that includes catering for bringing in all real-time streaming and batched data to start with. So you need to ensure that you have the software and capabilities to do this at scale in a complex big-data context. If you are still operating on legacy technology, then you are already at a disadvantage.
Enter next-generation technology. And, as an example, this is where graph technology is leaps and bounds ahead. Placing the value on relationships between data points, graph analytics can process massive quantities of interconnected data to illuminate the hidden patterns and trends in your data. Its organic modelling provides the agility you need in our ever-changing global environment and makes it rapidly scalable to grow with your business needs. This is next-generation graph intelligence that ensures you have the insights and situational awareness at your fingertips to make truly knowledgeable, executive decisions.
And what if your business needs extend beyond just visual analytics? Perhaps you need to boost your customer analytics with a 360 View, automated, dynamic segmentation and journey mapping to provide a more granular understanding of consumer behaviour. Maybe, you also want to personalise your customer engagement and marketing.
Alternatively, you might want to review your retention rates and mitigate churn. A visual analytics tool only provides great visualisations – but it won’t do the graph querying, graph analytics, heavy computation and rules action that a retention and churn mitigation solution requires.
Similarly, in a financial services context, impressive visualisation tools won’t solve a compliance, AML, KYC or fraud issue in a high volume and complex transaction environment. They will just help you to view your problem differently.
Achieving these types of solutions takes a combination of next-gen technologies.
The whole picture
With all that in mind, as part of your digitalisation strategy, wouldn’t you prefer the complete package rather than just a desk-top, visual analytics add-on? Locstat LightWeaver®, a true graph intelligence platform, provides an end-to-end solution to cohesively manage your data from entry point, through computation, graph algorithms and geospatial processing to visual analytics dashboards. And, notably, it includes the power of graph visual analytics, which is a very powerful way of conceptualising your data.
As Steve Jobs famously said, ‘The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do’. It’s time to think differently about your digital environment and achieve true graph intelligence. Our complete graph intelligence platform provides the next generation capabilities that support your success in an increasingly complex data world.