Thanks to the advent of Big Data, companies are collecting more facts than ever before — about their industry, clients, future clients, the economy, real estate, the state of their organizations — physically and fiscally. Business decision makers can no longer plead ignorance when it comes to understanding the needs of their customers, economic trends and other factors that drive business success. Gathering the data is the relatively straightforward part of the equation — the challenge is for organizations to figure out what to do with all this data once they get it.
Thanks to innovations in data management software, business analysts now have a variety of tools to navigate through the flood of Big Data. As the most commonly used spreadsheet across all industries (and many levels within companies), Microsoft Excel is often the default tool for collecting, organizing, analyzing and reporting. Its format is widely accepted and end-user friendly. However, the sheer volume of data available to businesses can render even the best-organized spreadsheet useless without the proper tools available to access specific information at a moment’s notice — and use that data to support fast, accurate and important business decisions.
While a great tool for categorizing, collection, and analysis, Excel often does not meet decision-makers’ needs for access and speed required in today’s volatile business environment. Decision makers don’t have weeks to wait for query results or reports. They need access to accurate, up-to-the-minute data to make informed decisions.
Thanks to Portfolio Navigator®, companies that want to remain competitive without breaking the bank on major technology investments can use Excel as their core analytic tool while leveraging the power that expensive business intelligence (BI) tools offer. Portfolio Navigator taps into Excel models that companies already have and transforms them into apps that can be used by managers, directors, and executives who are familiar with their business but who are not trained Excel users.
In summary, Excel is an excellent tool for collecting, sorting, analyzing and reporting, but it can be difficult and time consuming to share, analyze and update information. The easy-to-use Portfolio Navigator interface enables business decision makers to have direct access to powerful analytics.
