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...uctivity gains are the most easily quantified, companies should keep in mind the second- and thirdtier benefits from dashboards as well — such as reduced costs through improved visibility and increased sales through better visibility into data. DO YOU NEED A DASHBOARD? Finance departments have typically used digital dashboards and scorecards for monitoring expenses, cash flows, operating profit, and other fiscal indicators. But dashboards can be applied as effectively to human resources, operations, legal, and other departments in the corporate hierarchy. The key to determining if a dashboard is likely to bring an ROI in your environment is identifying data access challenges that currently impede managers’ ability to take business action: Implementing a dashboard can be an expensive proposition. Dashboards deliver ROI when companies ensure that they’re measuring what matters and are training users to target the meatier returns — such as improved sales and corporate growth. Scattered data sources. With dashboards, you can avoid the need to navigate countless data sources, often consolidating in a few screens what in the past you could determine only after pulling data from hundreds of reports, spreadsheets, faxes, or emails. If this describes your current data access practices, a dashboard could result in drastic productivity savings. • Fluctuating demand chains. Sales staff at companies operating in seasonal industries or other verticals with very dynamic demand curves could use daily access to dashboard data to meet sudden spikes in demand with adequate supply and identify poorly selling products. • Supply-side inefficiencies. Nucleus has found companies reaping significant returns by using dashboards to track metrics like spend per supplier — so purchasing and sourcing divisions can continually negotiate better deals with suppliers. • Mobile decision makers. Where live data feeds are needed frequently, dashboards deployed to PDAs and other wireless devices could help mobile executives and managers track and control metrics even in the field. Some dashboard solutions, such as Informatica’s Analytical Delivery Platform, are designed specifically for enabling wireless data access to field staff. ESTIMATING THE COSTS OF A DEPLOYMENT Companies considering dashboard deployments should consider the following associated cost areas: • Software. Companies that already own software from BI or enterprise resource planning vendors offering dashboard solutions can leverage existing investments. For example, Cognos Series 7 users could possibly add licenses...