As Business Intelligence develops at high speed, data processing and visualization are becoming major concerns for software companies. But integrating this functionality into an existing application can be a real challenge, especially from a technical point of view.
Faced with this problem, the onboard data analysis (embedded analytics) remains the most cost-effective and easy-to-use solution to implement.
What is embedded analytics?
Embedded analytics is a technology for integrating analysis and visualization tools directly into the interface of a site or software. Designed by a third party company, this embedded solution (OEM) integrates naturally into the user’s workflow, as Gartner explains.
In concrete terms, this means that the user can easily consult the data needed, without having to switch to another application. The analyses are integrated into the software platform in a transparent and context-sensitive manner. Thus, a single interface is all that is needed to access all the dashboards and indicators.
Integrated analytics is therefore a powerful tool for making data accessible to the greatest number of people, including non-specialists. This applies not only to a company’s employees, not all of whom have an IT profile, but also to its customers or partners, who can use embedded analytics to obtain information more easily and optimize their own processes.
Business intelligence and embedded analytics: what are the differences?
A business intelligence software collects, processes and exploits a large amount of data from different sources. However, it cannot be directly integrated into the experience offered by your site or software. BI requires the use of a full-fledged tool with a different interface, which is a hindrance to the user experience.
That is what embedded analytics is all about: merging data in an environment entirely designed for your users. Reports, dashboards and other visualizations are an integral part of your solution. This direct access to contextualized data is a real asset, since it allows for better information, and improved decision-making.
The different applications of integrated analytics
Embedded analytics can be used in two main cases: within a software application, generally SaaS, or in an extranet portal.
Integrated analytics in software
Thanks to embedded analytics, software companies can bring real added value to their products. Visualizations and dashboards allow users to add the information and context they need. This promotes the adoption of the tool, while paving the way for more in-depth and accurate analysis.
New LogUp, consulting and publishing company of business intelligence software, contacted DigDash to deploy its Orison M platform, dedicated to SMEs. Initially developed for the road transport sector, it offers business-related indicators in a good number of sectors, and makes it possible to monitor the profitability of the company and its operational activities as closely as possible to the reality on the ground. These indicators are calculated on the fly using integrated data analysis.
Analytics also finds its place in business applications: CRM, HR, among others. This enables users to make better decisions based on data, but also to improve their daily work processes.
Another example: Arcure, a company specializing in industrial safety, is developing the Blaxtair perimeter protection system for work machinery and industrial vehicles. Blaxtair Connect retrieves data collected by the machines equipped with the detection system. Combined with DigDash Enterprise, the system now makes it possible to present this data through dynamic and comprehensive dashboards.
Discover Arcure’s full testimonial.
Integrated analytics in a customer portal
Embedded analytics is also valuable when developing an extranet or customer portal, as it allows you to securely provide customers, partners and other involved parties with relevant information about the company’s ecosystem. It is an excellent way to optimize processes, stimulate innovation and increase the value of customer relationships.
Another strong point: improving the web and mobile user experience. Interactive analytics provide data-based information and improve knowledge sharing, while increasing user interest and engagement.
A use case that was notably put into practice by DigDash in the context of its collaboration with La Palette Rouge, a European expert in pallet pooling. For LPR, the main goal was to implement a customer extranet that would enable access to reporting, among other features. To achieve this, customers had to be able to access, analyse and manipulate their own data directly on the portal, in an independent and interactive way. This relieves La Palette Rouge’s internal customer support department of the time-consuming production of the dashboards sent to customers.
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The benefits of embedded analytics
Increase the rate of use of the application
With an embedded business analytics solution, businesses and software companies can provide a superior experience for their customers or users. With just a few clicks, raw data can be transformed into convincing and readable visualizations.
Unlike traditional BI software, embedded analytics allows users to stay connected to their everyday interfaces. This integrated approach provides them with valuable data that can guide their decisions or help them obtain information quickly and easily.
Data available in this application can be used by anyone from analysts to IT experts to non-technical users as they see fit. Consequently, this improved user experience increases the rate of acceptance and use of the solution.
Improve user satisfaction
The implementation of a embedded business analytics tool in a software or SaaS solution allows a better contextualization of the information provided. An added value that considerably increases user satisfaction.
According to a report produced by Logi Analytics in 2017. In a recent survey, 97 % of product managers and developers surveyed said that integrated analytics helped them improve customer satisfaction with their commercial software. For applications designed for internal company use, this figure rises to 97%.
Not only does embedded analytics amplify the use of a software application, it also gains the confidence of users and fully satisfies them.
An impact that could be measured by DigDash, in the context of its collaboration with a major telephone group. Our dashboarding solution is now integrated with their portal. This allows customers to quickly access a wide range of information. Previously, a PDF file was sent by e-mail to B2B customers to take stock of their consumption: mobile, fixed-line, internet, data… But this new dynamic invoice service is much more flexible, ergonomic and satisfactory.
With a view to improving customer satisfaction, Caceis, a Crédit Agricole subsidiary, is launching a secure extranet portal dedicated to its customers and an analytics platform. For this flagship project, the company adopted DigDash Enterprise in order to be able to freely manage a large number of users without slowdowns or loss of performance. “With DigDash, we have a license with a much higher maximum number of users. The reaction and display time of the dashboards is now much higher.”
Find Caceis’s full Testimonial on this great dataviz project.
CACEIS Bank | Conciliate Analytics and digital transformation thanks to dataviz
Build user loyalty
From the user’s point of view, it is essential that analysis software offers direct access to the data, which must be intuitive and understandable, just like the other elements of the application. Therefore, by investing in an integrated analysis tool, you have the opportunity to build long-term customer loyalty. Indeed, embedded analytics is a significant competitive advantage: your customers wil not be tempted to look elsewhere if the competition is not up to speed on data access.
In addition, it is possible to offer a customized experience by providing privileged access to certain users, who will be able to access advanced analysis and reports. This will provide them with new solutions to meet their needs, while demonstrating that your product can improve and grow over time.
In this way, integrated analytics not only attracts new users, but also increases the retention of existing users.
Save time and money
Embedded analytics has many benefits for your customers, but also for your company. Indeed, developing a solution in-house can be complex for your technical team. What’s more, it distracts attention from the core functionality of your software or customer portal.
Thus, in terms of cost, an embedded analysis solution can be very advantageous, while minimizing the work effort required by the IT team. Moreover, this type of tool is designed for easy integration. As a result, deployment times are much shorter than those of traditional Business Intelligence tools.
Patrick SIGWALT, Chief Information Officer, and Sylvain CARRER, Head of Business Intelligence at La Palette Rouge, testify to this: “First, we faced some resistance to putting reports online directly to customers that were not previously verified internally.”.
Actually, before the deployment of the DigDash solution, users had the feeling that they had more control over the information transmitted by producing the reports themselves. When the idea of making customers independent on their reporting was presented, they felt that they had lost ownership of the issue… But their point of view quickly changed: ” Today, it is a success, there is a real adoption of the tool, and a real awareness of the benefits thereof.”
Axège a specialist in management control and monitoring dedicated to healthcare institutions, has also seen the value of embedded analytics. Indeed, hospitals generate large amounts of data and need reliable indicators in different areas: quality, human resources, finance…
The embedded solution of DigDash allows to analyze these data separately, but also to cross them to obtain dashboards answering the various problems encountered by the decision-makers. It saves a lot of time, since it is now possible to quickly process large amounts of data (sometimes billions of lines).
DigDash: the best embedded analytics solution
With its agile solution of embedded dashboards, DigDash allows businesses and software companies to significantly improve the quality of their services.
“The relationship between HPS and DigDash is not a customer-supplier relationship, but a win-win partnership.” says Anouar BENZAKOUR, Data Analytics Manager at HPS Worldwide. “We can also use DigDash as a white-label solution, since it can be directly integrated into our PowerCARD-BI module.”
Indeed, our white label data analysis and visualization platform integrates quickly and safely into any web application.
In its customer testimonial, Lionel YAVORSKY of New LogUp confirms: “The integration of DigDash Enterprise was achieved without any major difficulties, thus facilitating the deployment of Orison M.”
NewLOGUP | Business Intelligence integrated into a business-oriented management platform
Thanks to embedded analytics, it has never been easier to improve the functionality of a software or an extranet portal. Much more accessible than developing an in-house solution, on-board analysis saves time and money, as well as customer satisfaction.