What is Metrics Dashboard Software

Metrics dashboard software refers to platforms designed to track, manage and display company business metrics in an effort to provide business users with the tools needed to enhance daily management through access to information. This "performance management" style relies heavily on measuring company performance against pre-determiined standards. The classic example might be measurement of sales performance against pre-determined quota. In some respect a simple spreadsheet can be used as metrics dashboard software, but for the modern business, metrics dashboard software is often more complicated and relies on tying performance metrics from multiple departments to better understand and manage the business as a whole.

Why use Metrics Dashboard Software

Metrics dashboard software can provide significant benefits to both small and large organizations. Making decisions based on available information is always a challenge for any organization, even more so today with the rapid pace of change and the high amount of data stored by companies. The metrics dashboard software can provide a centralized, standard method for displaying information based on available data in an effort to give managers access to better information. This access can in turn lead to discovery of problem areas as well as opportunities that can be capitalized on.

History of Metrics Dashboard Software

While metrics dashboard software has been available for some time it has almost exclusively been the domain of enterprise organizations for a very long time. Some of the first deployments of metrics dashboard software were performed using software platforms from companies like Cognos and Business Objects. The metrics dashboard software deployed in those environments were always incredibly expensive and relied on a high degree of professional services and work by IT professionals to perform accurately.

Metrics Dashboard Software and the Mid-Market

Over the past few years metrics dashboard software has become available that targets mid-market companies. Because these companies have typically small IT staffs and don't have the resources of their larger counterparts, the metrics dashboard software aimed at these companies are easier to deploy, easier to use and easier to work with. In the past, however, these metrics dashboard software platforms have come at the expense of features and performance. New metrics dashboard software form companies like EMANIO are changing all that.

Planning your Metrics Dashboard Software

When planning your deployment of metrics dashboard software there are a number of considerations to take into account. While the software platform is important, a metrics dashboard software deployment is most heavily going to be affected by the data behind it and the quality of that data. For these reasons it's critical to understand data availability and quality long before considering the metrics dashboard software that is right for your company.