How to Integrate Excel Dashboards with Corporate Systems

Introduction

The use of Excel dashboards to analyze corporate data is a powerful tool for monitoring and managing business performance. Not only do these dashboards provide quick and easy access to information, but they can be used to compare, report and visualize large sets of data. To ensure accurate, real-time insights, it is essential to integrate your Excel dashboards with corporate systems.

Integrating Excel dashboards into corporate systems offers numerous benefits, such as:

• Improved data accuracy, since data is automatically updated whenever changes are made in the corporate systems.
• Decreased time and resources required to build and maintain dashboards, since data will no longer need to be manually pulled and crunched.
• Greater flexibility, since any changes made in the corporate system will be automatically reflected in the dashboards.

With the need for those key insights from your dashboards, there is now an essential need to integrate your Excel dashboards with corporate systems.

What are Excel Dashboards?

Excel dashboards are visually appealing, interactive components of a spreadsheet that help users quickly see and understand trends in the data. Excel dashboards are an effective and efficient way to explore and analyze data, display images and other visuals, and track progress toward organizational goals. They give users an up-to-date snapshot of all the relevant information that they need to make decisions and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs).

Overview of Dashboards

Excel dashboards can include a variety of elements such as charts, graphs, tables, maps, and images. With the right design and constructions, dashboards are able to provide a quick, comprehensive overview of any set of data in an organized and concise way. Dashboards allow users to quickly identify trends in data, understand relationships between the different elements, and make decisions more efficiently.

Different Dashboard Needs

While all Excel dashboards have the same overall purpose – to effectively communicate information – there are different types of dashboards that are designed to serve different needs and objectives. For instance, a project dashboard might focus on tracking progress, while a sales dashboard might focus on market trends. Different industries and organizations have different needs when it comes to their dashboards, and it’s important to understand these needs before creating the dashboard design.

• Sales dashboards focus on market trends, customer success rates, and historical performance.
• Finance dashboards focus on budgets, financial statements, and cash flows.
• Marketing dashboards focus on campaigns, web statistics, and social media analytics.
• Operations dashboards focus on production management, supply chain operations, and resources.
• Project dashboards focus on project tracking, task management, and team performance.

How to Integrate Excel Dashboards with Corporate Systems

Identifying the corporate system requirements

When creating an Excel dashboard to integrate with a corporate system, it is critical to first identify the requirements of the corporate system. These requirements can generally be divided into two parts – corporate information needs and dashboard design parameters. The corporate information needs should be able to answer questions, such as “what data do we need to collect, how should it be supplemented, how is it stored, and how will it be used?” Meanwhile, the dashboard design parameters should define specifications of the dashboard, such as what kinds of data, analytics or visualizations should be used, the user interface and navigation, and the data sources, among others.

Software development to build the dashboard

Once the corporate system requirements have been identified, the next step is to start software development to build the dashboard. This development will involve both selecting the right software solution and customizing the dashboard to your needs. For example, you may decide to use Excel to build your dashboard, in which case you can use a pre-built dashboard template to save time. Additionally, you may also want to incorporate analytics, custom visualizations and other interactive features into the dashboard. It is important to always keep the corporate system requirements in mind as you develop the dashboard.

Automation techniques to move data from corporate systems to the dashboard

Once the Excel dashboard has been built, the final step is to integrate the dashboard with other corporate systems. In order to do this, it is necessary to take advantage of automation techniques to move data from corporate systems to the dashboard. This may involve securely connecting the Excel dashboard to corporate systems, automating data import and export processes, and creating custom scripts and queries to extract data directly from the corporate system. This process also requires ensuring that the dashboard is always up-to-date and secure with proper data governance protocols.

Benefits of Dashboards Integration

Integrating dashboards with corporate systems offers a range of benefits, allowing businesses to access a wide range of data quickly and have a better visibility of the same. Here are some of the benefits of dashboard integration:

Better Visibility of Data

Integrating dashboards with corporate systems provides a better level of visibility of data since it can be accessed in one platform with just a few clicks. This aids decision makers in gaining access to accurate and up-to-date data, making it easier to properly analyze it and come to an informed conclusion.

Ability to Spot Trends Easily

Integrating dashboards with corporate systems allows for easier trend spotting. By eliminating the need to manually compile data from multiple sources, businesses can reduce the amount of time taken to spot trends and adjust their operations as needed.

Easier to Make Decisions about the Data

Having a single platform where all the data is stored makes it easier to make decisions related to the data. With relevant information such as sales, customer information, and other vitals right at their fingertips, businesses can take steps towards optimizing the performance of their operations with greater efficiency.

5. Considerations in Dashboards Integration

Integrating Excel dashboards into corporate systems comes with a host of considerations. The following sections will discuss considerations such as security, data structure, and quality of data.

a. Security Considerations

Security is of utmost importance, particularly for sensitive data. Before integrating spreadsheets into corporate systems, one should assess the security measures required to protect the data from potential threats. Aspects to consider include authorization protocols, data encryption, and data masking. Additionally, rigorous access control mechanisms should be installed to ensure that only those users with legitimate access are allowed to retrieve or modify data.

b. Data Structure Considerations

When integrating to corporate systems, it is necessary to ensure the data is structured in a way that allows for easy retrieval and modification. This means standardizing data types, defining relationships and rules, and employing a well-structured data dictionary that accurately describes the data. Depending on the size of the dataset and its complexity, data migration tools could be required.

c. Quality of Data Considerations

In addition to ensuring a well-structured data dictionary, the quality of data is a vital factor to consider. Before integrating to corporate systems, one should verify that data is accurate and up-to-date. Additionally, data should be cross-checked to eliminate duplicate entries and erroneous values.

Best Practices for Integration

When it comes to integrating Excel dashboards with corporate systems, there are several best practices to take into consideration. The following are the three most important things to keep in mind when integrating dashboards into business systems.

Have a Good Plan

Having a good plan is essential when it comes to integrating Excel dashboards with corporate systems. It is important to consider how the dashboards will be used and how data will be collected and analyzed. A well-defined plan will ensure that integration is successful and that the business system is running smoothly.

Focus on Data Quality

Data quality is a top priority for any successful integration. The data should be accurately collected and analyzed in order to provide meaningful insights. It is important to check that the data is accurate and up to date, and that it is being used to its fullest potential.

Ensure Dashboard is User-Friendly

Before integrating the dashboard into corporate systems, it is important to make sure that it is user friendly. This includes ensuring that the dashboard is easy to use and navigate, and that all the features are easy to understand. It should also display data in a way that is easy to interpret and use to make informed business decisions.

Conclusion

Integrating Excel dashboards with corporate systems is a great way for businesses to enhance their operations and better monitor performance metrics. By taking advantage of the cloud and tapping into the power of data visualization, businesses can improve their decision-making processes and maximize their productivity.

Summary of the Benefits of Excel Dashboard Integration

Excel dashboard integration has many advantages that make it an appealing choice for businesses, including:

• Gathering incoming data from multiple sources and transforming it into actionable intelligence.
• Prompt updates, to ensure that decisions are based on the most up-to-date data.
• Cost-effective entry point for start-ups and smaller businesses.
• Continuous onboarding of Artificial Intelligence technologies, to empower the decision-making process.
• Access to valuable, granular business insights that allow businesses to remain competitive and agile.

Encouragement to Take the Next Step in Corporate Systems Integration

The many business benefits of Excel dashboard integration make it an ideal starting point for corporate systems integration. That said, it’s important for businesses to consider the full range of benefits that come with making the switch to corporate systems integration. With the advances in AI, cloud, and data analytics technology, there are many options available for businesses to make use of, and understanding what is available on the market and which technologies are best suited for their operations is essential.

For businesses that are ready to take the next step in corporate systems integration, the potential for improved performance, greater efficiency, and improved customer satisfaction is tremendous. If you are considering integrating Excel dashboards in your corporate systems, taking the time to understand the market, the available technology, and the potential benefits is a great starting point.