Around 20 years back, the charts were the prime conveyor for business ideas. Meetings would be held with important delegates, and each of them would have their ideas represented in words or pictures. They would present the slides, share the thought, discuss the subject and the decision would be taken in favor of company’s growth.

20 years hence, we stand in the middle of high technology machines. There are machines everywhere, even in the meeting rooms. The attendees carry their ideas in their latest gadgets, present them on everybody’s screen with a single click, the discussions are almost non-verbal with fingers tapping quickly, meetings are held across the globe, all through the connected intelligent systems, and the decisions are taken.

There is a lot which has changed. But there is something that remains same in its fundamental functionality too- the charts. Earlier, the charts were shared on papers and slides, now those are drawn with different tools on intelligent machines- laptops, mini gadgets, and smart phones. But there still hasn’t been a replacement to the chart system when it comes to conveying the thoughts, especially the numbers, comparisons and checklists.

So, the charts have their own effectiveness for businesses. The decisions are taken based on the facts shown on charts which are tool designed, even automated sometimes. And many a times, the business decisions taken prove to be terribly wrong! So, when the business decisions go wrong, do the representations on chart owe the discredit?

Actually, they do… Here are the most common misrepresentations that deal to fatal decisions, owing to the lack of clarity into business standing.

1.       Incorrect Choice Of Colors:

When designing tools are used for creating a chart, there is a choice of at least million colors on the screen. Usually, the designer tends to pick the most attractive ones which create a visual impact. These colors however are critical in creating a distinction between the parameters. Rather than the most attractive, focus should be on enhancing the distinction which can bring clarity to the subject. Also, the color blind users should be considered. This takes one back to the era when the selection of colors used to be mild, distinct and limited.

2.       Wrong Usage Of Pie Charts:

A pie chart is a very efficient way to clearly bring out the comparison between many factors. Now, imagine a pie chart where the pie is represented by a thin line and the chart as a whole consists of many thin lines one after the other! There is nothing more confusing and dissatisfying than such a piece of pie. This signifies one major flaw- over flow of information, which shrinks down the pie to a single line.

Whenever drawn, the pie chart must consider the limited data sets. Instead of mixing two data sets, one must be represented to compare parts of it.  In fact, the choice of a pie chart is good whenever the data sets to be handled are fewer. A good way of comparison is to order the slices of pie from largest to smallest.

3.       Information Clutter:

Are you clear what you want to convey as a single precise point? Every day, across the world, millions of businesses feel that the meetings they organize regularly deviate from the track, and the purpose of the entire formal get-together gets defeated. Be careful that the topics being covered in your representation are completely relevant to the subject. Any unnecessary detail may confuse the audience, or worse, force the entire flow of the meeting in an unwanted direction. The limited information with the needed structural representation is an extremely efficient tool in conveying the message.

4.       Inefficient Design:

In Steve Jobs words, “Design is not what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” A beautiful design that is incapable of conveying the idea in clarity and entirety is ineffective. Business demands effective design, not the beautiful design. Another key factor to designing is the communication skill. A developer who knows what s to be conveyed will be able to prepare the visualization that is effective. Behind unattractive colors, there would be substantial information which is vital to the business. And hence, the design passes the test.

5.       Data Issues:

After all, the complete scenario ends at the most important parameter that the business is interested in- Data. So, what if the data presented in the visualization is wrong? The Bad Data is not endurable. Any visualization must be thoroughly checked for the data issues before its presentation. Wrong information is no way related to data visualization, but can force all the designing efforts to drain if the data is incorrect.

One basic fact that every business understands is about reduction in costs. While the technology is growing by heaps and bounds, the businesses need to grow as well if they have to compete. It is true that the aspiring Enterprises find it compulsory to deploy the newer technologies. This helps them with their pace of growth and gives them an edge if they make use of technology at the right time. But it is also true that these companies resist investments which are huge. The considerable costs of deployment to adopt a change may be enormous if it is to be implemented across the Organization.


The smart way to deal with the problem is going department by department. Most of the businesses deploy a new technology in one of their units, and slowly expand it across the Organization if they witness the benefits. But there may be even bigger savings to this, if the connect between units can be established, and the same implementation can be used across the Organization. And surprisingly, this interconnect can be utilized to an extent using Data Warehousing Tools.

1.       Cost Savings By Operational Data:

The reduction in capital expenditure can be soon realized if the Organizations stop depending upon the external data sources for their various units. This can well happen by using the past data generated over the years. This data, when utilized by a number of Data Warehousing tools can help in producing operational logics within the unit. By opting for the specific useful logics and combining with the parameters collected by the DWH tools, the units can have an access to the real time operational data which is granular.

2.       Streamlining Deployments Accelerate Results:

Faster and more accurate data can be generated if the deployment within a unit is streamlined with the sources. The granular leveled details can help in reporting many high level parameters which can be used Organization wide. Thus, making use of the same source, the data warehousing tools can have a deeper insight and produce the results which are benefitting to multiple units. This gets easier if it can be established that in what manner these units are connected to each other. In other words, inter connection within departments can help in the generated output being used more effectively.

3.       Database Partitioning For Real-Time Operations:

The Operational units are a little different from the rest in an Organization, since these depend upon the most recent data. While the data warehousing tools have an excellent storage and impeccable ability to generate output based on the past information, the real time operational warehousing cannot wait for this processing to get over. Database partitioning is a resolve for this. The advanced tools have the inherent feature for such real time operations. A quick access to the partitioned database gives an access to the time critical information, which is individually utilized for the reporting purposes. The same input is later utilized for processing by the DWH tools to generate results at various levels.

4.       OLAP Cubing Services For All Users:

Conventionally, there are a few select power users working on OLAP systems that are decision makers and report developers. With the BI tools making it possible to integrate any number of dimensions, more businesses or units can be linked. The ad-hoc query or an in-depth reporting is possible with ease. This provisioning makes it simpler for the Organization to use the same information unlimited times, with a clear insight into the dependency between parameters.

5.       Smarter And Integrated Decision Making:

The use of BI tools if used across the Organization can facilitate the unit leaders to look into the dimensions from their own perspective. With dependency about the information eliminated from other sources, there is a quicker decision making which can shape up. The points of view can be collaborated from these units and an Organization level decision can be taken with no further delay. This is crucial for the businesses which wait for the departments to complete analysis before they come to a common conclusion.

Read post on Benefits of Data virtualization as well.