Benefits of Data Visualization for Different Industries

Representation of data using graphics such as charts, tables, graphs, plots, infographics, heat maps, bubble clouds, scatter plots, mekko charts, including animation is data visualization. It's the graphical representation of information and data by visual context.

Data visualization is psychological, and the psychological benefits of visual data representation go far beyond just graphs and colors, it's the way the human brain processes and understands information. It helps the human brain to maximize pre-attentive processing and to go directly to the story behind the data. Such visual displays and representation of information help to communicate complex data relationships and data-driven insights in a way that makes it easy to understand and base decisions on. The objective of data visualization is to help identify patterns and trends from large data sets.

Industries across different sectors have started using big data and incorporated data visualization tools in their operations. We look at some of the sectors that have gained more benefits from this.

Finance-
There is a massive volume of financial data available for tracking and forecasting different financial patterns. But having data is not enough. It has to be communicated in a way that makes taking decisions possible. Data visualization is the key to translating big data into bullet points for decision-making.

• Management reports: Comprehensive reports are needed for taking management-level decisions for the organization. Converting raw data available from various divisions of the company to visual representation assists top-level executives to know how the divisions are functioning and make decisions based on it.
• Financial reporting: Visual reports of KPIs such as divisional revenue and expenses, revenue and operating margins, etc. can be very useful for CFOs and top management of the company.
• Financial forecasting: Visualizing the financial data can offer insights for future planning and forecasting finances and performance including sales, revenues, fixed and variable costs, etc.

Transportation and logistics-
Managing transportation networks is a challenging task. There is a constant need to monitor and effectively optimize vehicle movement to ensure that vehicles do not get roadblocked and to prevent accidents.

Data visualization is used to harness and process data generated from different input points into different forms of reporting to manage traffic within cities and towns and to manage the vehicle fleet and the workload for transportation and logistics companies.

Healthcare-
Data analysis is a part of data preparation, data modeling, and data visualization. Adoption of data visualization tools for healthcare organizations is essential to take advantage of data analysis. The benefits for healthcare are

• Improved patient care: Data visualization assists the medical staff to identify and react faster to any patient emergency. Patients can be defined and grouped according to the treatment. Dashboard reports help doctors from missing critical information about patients like drug intolerance etc.
• Understanding the trend and pattern: Using data visualization with predictive analytics, healthcare professionals can estimate changes in patient health and take corrective steps. It also helps healthcare organizations in identifying trends and patterns based on statistical and research reports to take strategic decisions related to public health.
• Error and fraud detection: Data visualization helps improve transparency for early detection of double billing, multiple billing for single service, forged prescriptions, and false insurance claims. etc.

Retail-
Online shopping is a game changer and has led to a massive data stream and this big data makes data analytics, business intelligence & data visualization essential in the retail industry. Some benefits of data visualization in retail are

• Forecasting: Data visualization tools are used to effectively understand the changes in trends and demand fluctuations. Retailers, as well as manufacturers, are using visual analytics to peek into the future and get an idea about consumer spending and purchasing habits.
• Managing retail flow: There is a value chain starting from manufacturers, and distributors, to space planning, store cluster creation, and visual analysis to retail & compliance. Companies and other stakeholders are leveraging data visualization and analytics to understand this complex flow and find solutions for sales, warehousing, logistics etc.

Agriculture-
Agricultural companies are beginning to use the data to create analytics to help develop platforms for various uses.

• Managing pests: Pests and diseases are a farmer's nightmare. Pesticides can help but can have adverse effects on the plants, people, soil etc. Agricultural companies use the services of data scientists to help out in such cases by using data analytics and visualization. IoT and AI can help determine types of pests, the quantity etc. Farmers can use this data to then plan for pest management.
• Climate change: Climate change is now a growing concern and is already affecting the agriculture sector in many countries. Data scientists are using IoT sensors to scrutinize soil data, satellite data etc and come up with visual reports to understand how to optimize seeding and production cycles.

Software companies can create and offer immersive dashboards and show the advantages of data visualization that can impact a company’s work. It can empower businesses across sectors by generating actionable insights through data visualization and help spot opportunities and optimize performance.