Visualization Technologies

Visualization technologies refer to tools used in the study and creation of visually represented data with the aim of communicating information concisely and efficiently using informational and statistical graphics. Effective visualization makes raw data more accessible and understandable to the user. Each year the amount of data created continues to rise exponentially; however, all these data being produced by people, the internet and other sources are all not useful to decision makers on their own (Keim 12). It has to collected, organized, simplified and analyzed through visualization technologies to give a meaningful value.  For an organization to make the right decisions quickly, its leaders need to be able to interpret data swiftly. Currently the ability to get information, interpret it and promptly act on it has become a competitive advantage.

Visualization technology leverage emerging technology to improve user experience. Two of the most common technologies that drive efficiency in organizations are: Visual reporting and visual analysis. Visual reporting utilizes graphics and charts to highlight the performance of business using time series and metric information. It can make organizations more efficient as it enables them identify anomalies quickly and fix the problem. Visual analysis, on the other hand, allows organizations explore large amount of data and discovering new perspectives. They allow users to filter compare and contrast data at a very fast pace; allowing organizations to perform predictive analytics ensuring the organization makes the correct decision (Chen 9). The Dashboard is perhaps the best example of visual reporting. It is often arranged in a series charts and use multiple tabs to segment the charts into categories. The most effective dashboard displays summarizes data graphically for easy consumption and provide further information with only a few clicks.

Mobile visualization technology is a quickly growing area of visualization. As a Chief Information Officer (CIO) of a business I would leverage on the accessibility of mobile visualization technology to create a strong risk management plan. Mobile visualization expands the field of view; enabling people to work together that enhance mutual understanding and ensures people remain on the right track to achieve the organizational goals.

Nquest Enterprise Reporting

NQUEST is a data warehousing and Extraction application from NLS Banking Solutions designed to facilitate enterprise reporting and analysis. The data obtained from the main source is cleaned, transformed and cataloged and is made available to be used by managers and other business professional for reporting, data mining, online analytical processing, market research and decision support.

The data warehousing module mainly involves selectively importing data from any host database to a Data warehouse Database through a data migration tool (NLS ETL Tool)

During this process, no modification of the data or the database structure will be done on the host database. Once the data is available on the Data warehouse, the reporting team can deploy reports and enquiries on the NLS Report Server which will have direct network access to the Data warehouse. The NLS Report Server will host the report templates and enquiry logic that will allow end users to run reports generated from the exported data via a standard web browser.

Work Cited

Keim, Daniel A. “Information visualization and visual data mining.” IEEE transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 8.1 (2002): 1-8.

Chen, Hsinchun, Roger HL Chiang, and Veda C. Storey. “Business intelligence and analytics: From big data to big impact.” MIS quarterly 36.4 (2012)