Data analytics and visualization have become critical elements to most businesses across many sectors. These tools allow them to better interpret, analyze, and draw conclusions from data, especially statistical data that can be confusing or overwhelming to anyone who isn’t a data scientist. When organizations want to monitor their performance in real-time, they turn to data visualization to help them translate those large numbers into something that makes more sense and can help them make informed decisions that drive the business forward.
While most types of businesses can benefit from some kind of data analytics and visualization, there are a few industries for whom data is their bread and butter. Without data, these industries would struggle to keep customers happy, meet their goals, and in some cases, keep their business functioning.
If your business is unsure about diving into the world of data, keep reading to see if your industry is one that can most benefit from data analytics and visualization.
1. Transportation and Logistics
The transportation and logistics industry is made up of a series of networks that connect different companies, entities, and organizations that may be geographically disconnected. Think package delivery systems that deliver around the world and have to be in constant communication to ensure timely and accurate delivery. Keeping a network like that up and running can be a daunting task and requires keen monitoring, constant upkeep, and effective optimization to prevent roadblocks and accidents on the road, and miscommunications in the warehouse.
This is where data comes in. Collecting and analyzing data can help businesses understand where bottlenecks are occurring and where things are running smoothly. A clear understanding of this data from visualization can help stakeholders make well-informed choices on how to re-route drivers or pilots and where confusion may lie at the warehouse. Data visualization tools also make servicing vehicle fleets more efficient by displaying real-time information and presenting realistic solutions.
2. Healthcare
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, data visualization tools have been a massive help to many professionals in the healthcare industry. Charts and figures have provided healthcare professionals with real-time information on COVID hotspots and superspreader events that allow them to anticipate and prepare for a wave of new patients.
Public health officials are also able to do their job better when armed with data about the state of public health through geographic information systems, allowing them to alert the public to possible outbreaks. Additionally, with this information they can re-route patients to better-staffed hospitals, keeping overcrowding down.
Data is a critical tool for the healthcare industry even beyond pandemics. It’s crucial for this industry to understand trends and patterns among its patients to create smarter and more effective treatment plans or understand why a group of people are experiencing certain heath issues.
3. Environmental
The environmental sector has relied heavily on geographic information system models and maps for decades. This industry offers one of the best examples of the use of data visualization and has served as a backbone of action schemes and risk reduction strategies for environmental groups. For example, we’ve all seen maps of severe weather patterns and been able to take action to keep ourselves safe. Without that data, we’d be unprepared for severe weather events, resulting in even more damage and potential loss of life. Data analytics and visualizations also give the environmental industry the ability to prevent dangerous situations from happening, or evacuate people from a danger zone.
Environmental professionals also use data visualization techniques and data insight solutions to harness information to create a stable solution for their projects. For example, farmers can benefit from data collection and visualization to monitor their farms and understand the state of their crops.
4. Retail
Companies in the retail sector all use data visualization tools quite extensively. Data visualization and analytics are now used at just about every stage of the retail process, from predicting trends to optimizing pricing to understanding customer behavior to figuring out what to sell next, data has become a critical tool for retail businesses.
Before these tools were available, business owners had to guess or go off old information to understand what products might be popular or why sales were slowing down. But with data tools, they can now forecast trends to ensure they stock the most popular products and plan ahead for slower sales periods. These tools have allowed businesses to thrive and stay competitive in a whole new way.
5. Public Sector
The public sector can benefit from data tools in a myriad of ways, including identifying wasteful spending, tracking population changes, monitoring employment rates, and ensuring accountability in spending money. The public sector has the ability to collect data from so many sources such as census reports, surveys, and utility usage, just to name a few. They can also engage the public in town hall meetings to understand what the community needs.
But, with all of this information coming from multiple sources, it can be challenging to make heads or tails of it, which is where data visualization can help. Having a clear understanding of what the data is saying can help public officials make well-informed decisions that truly benefit the community and ensure that public money is being spent effectively. It can also help identify and cut down on abuse, fraud, and waste, all of which can put a strain on already scarce resources and erode the public’s trust. With the real-time information data analytic tools provide, the public sector can operate more efficiently and reduce future risks.
Conclusion
Big data is something that will only continue to grow in its importance to businesses, and in the future we’ll see more and more industries relying on it. But we also know that there are some industries that simply can’t function without it, like the ones we talked about here. By leveraging data visualization tools, these industries can overcome their challenges and translate their data into actionable results.
Is your business in one of these industries that needs data analytics and visualization help? Gemini Enterprise transforms data and analytics by enabling you to easily and intuitively interact with data by telling a story. Through our data solutions, we use visualization to make it easy for everyone to understand and digest what story the data is telling us. For more advanced analytics solutions, contact us today.
