6 Reporting Trends: Improve data and analytics use in your company

Reporting trends in 2021: as more innovative players and technologies have become available, the market for reporting has changed and developed dramatically. Based on its vision on the future of reporting and the experience the company has in more than 270 projects worldwide, Toucan Toco shares the trends that will define the use of reporting and the market in 2021.

In 2018 there was a technologic and cultural change around  data. From a technological perspective, data preparation and data structuring projects are now having a high success rate. The market is mature, which means it’s easy to find a solution with a good service level.

The cultural change is reflected in the rise of the Chief Data Officer in large global companies, 90% of these companies will have CDO’s in 2021. It means that most companies know that data will help their workforce make better decisions, collaborate better and get information faster than ever. But of course also due (or thanks) to the GDPR, organizations are fully aware that the protection of data is essential as well.

The year 2019 has set a new standard for 2020 and for 2021, where companies don’t focus on collecting as much data as possible but more on how they can leverage it”, says Charles Miglietti, President and co-founder at Toucan Toco.  “We’ve seen an amazing transformation inside our client’s companies.

They actually have a greater understanding of how data can impact their day-to-day business and how to use it. From C-level to middle management, we feel like the market has really moved forward.”

The trends Toucan Toco defines for 2021 are:

1. Real time metrics to make real time decisions

Large companies have so much data that it can take from 1 to 4 months for them to get them ready for human consumption.  This is why reporting is considered useless in some organizations. Because the information they are seeing is not useful anymore, it is just too late.

In order to stay ahead of the game, reporting must be real-time. Reporting solutions are now ready to plug themselves to most data sources in order to generate live charts, so the users can monitor exactly what’s going on in their business and act on this with the right decisions.

2. The ability to merge open data with internal data sources and IoT

There are billions of connected objects, and these will only continue to grow. But these connected objects also generate a lot of new questions. For instance:  how do you combine 20 to 50 connected object data sources with a single source of monitoring? Data visualization and reporting are the clear answer.

Also, large companies are trying to merge different data sources to have a better vision of their business. Most retailers are interested in seeing the impact of the weather on the performance of their shops and stores. Having one platform where you can have all your data and visualize them depending on what your status and jobs are in the company, proves to be one of the thing that companies will need the most in 2019.

3. Data storytelling gains ground at the expense of data exploration

Instead of Business Intelligence reporting tools, users are now more interested in Data storytelling. BI tools are made for experts and data analysts, and usually hard to use. On the opposite side there’s Data storytelling which is made for everyone, it helps sales, marketers, HR, Finance and any other department get insights easy and fast.

Users want key information to adapt to their needs. They don’t want to access a broad reporting tool where they lose time finding the right data. Even in the same department, a CMO won’t have the same reporting needs as a Marketing Campaign Manager.

Data storytelling narrows down or aggregates the information depending on the role you have in the company. This means better information, customized for every user.

4. Predictive reporting

Whatever data you have, companies want to be able to forecast both to seize opportunities when these arise, but also to limit risks. What would happen if company X creates this new line of product?

What would our financial situation look like if we invest in that company or this new service?

Companies like prevision.io develop complex algorithms that can be plugged into reporting tools, to allow managers to predict the risks or potential opportunities they wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

Predictive reporting will become more popular in 2019 and help organizations to take the right decisions that will significantly influence their bottom line now and in the future.

5. Mobile reporting and offline access are must to haves

People are moving in and out of the office more than ever. Be it transports, at a factory or at the airport. They need to be able to access their reporting at any time on their mobile, online or offline.

This is why mobile reporting and offline access are no longer nice to haves, but need to haves. SaaS solution providers who offer this are the answer to the already present need of mobility in the business.

6. Agile implementation

Companies are not willing anymore to wait patiently for 12 to 18 months to have their reporting solution implemented.

They need their insights now. This means agile implementations with a maximum time of 6 months are on the rise and will continue to gain popularity in 2021.

Moreover, implementations done with an agile methodology are not only faster but according to the Chaos Report of the Standish Group, they also have higher rates of success.

Why should you trust our opinion for reporting trends in 2021?

Toucan Toco has been challenging the status quo for the past 4 years and pushing the limit of reporting as we know it.

We gained insights from more than a hundred clients of Fortune 500 company size in more than 4 countries in Europe over 300 projects. As we have a first-hand understanding of the market, we have decided to share it.

Toucan Toco is a reporting and data storytelling software helping every department of the company understand, use and communicate their data better.