Depending on who you talk to, dashboard-style data reporting in 2007 was either the latest big thing or a collective yawner. What everyone does agree on is that the breadth of sources, quality, speed and relevance of data are more important than how it looks.
Dashboards are designed to provide answers using charts, graphs and progress bars without the need to generate reports. They delve into mounds of sometimes overwhelming information and produce key performance indicator displays.
"It's a bell and whistle that's supposed to attract the attention of those who don't understand technology," said Corporate Solutions Group partner Bob Lichtman. "There are benefits. It's friendlier than the old type of database query--and some systems are still like that. But you have to have quality information that is well scrubbed or obtained. A data aggregator has to get the most reliable information all the time, and it comes in all different formats. There are so many facets, and these companies have to be perfect and credible in all these areas--otherwise you have garbage data."
According to BCD Travel executive vice president for products, technology and supplier relations Dee Runyan, dashboards take "that tabular information and make it kind of 'at a glance' with red, green and yellows dials. The dials and everything are great, but they are just part of the picture. We need to deliver the relevant information to individual users based on their responsibilities."
Noting that "the movement toward dashboards is an enterprise computing trend, not just a travel trend," Travel Tech Consulting's Norm Rose agreed that one must be aware of the long-time data maxim that "garbage in is garbage out." But he argued that dashboards are "not a different way to dress up the same data you saw before. The value of dashboards is they enable users to be proactive and predictive. With the turnover in travel management, the amount of time and expertise a person has within travel is diminishing. A procurement person with less travel expertise is more likely to benefit from an intuitive dashboard."
According to a paper Rose co-published with PhoCusWright, "travel-specific dashboard products allow corporate users to review summary details, measure performance against contracted goals and drill down to individual division, department and traveler details with a simple click. Some of the dashboards include recommendations on how to achieve savings goals."
Tech vendors including Cornerstone Information Systems, TRX Inc. and Tri-Pen Management have implemented new dashboards for corporate accounts and travel management companies, while such others as TMCs Carlson Wagonlit Travel and Travizon are publicizing home-grown solutions.[PULL_1]"It's about simplicity," said Travizon chief technology officer Lehi Mills. "You have this shift where procurement is taking over travel in certain areas, and they're asking for more information, and executives are getting more involved in what's going on. Looking more from the top level, they're asking, 'How is my program today?' without wanting to run through 10 business intelligence reports."
CWT Solutions Group provides to such clients as JPMorgan Chase and Shell dashboard-based benchmarking, analysis, recommendations and dynamic forecasting. Shell started using dashboards earlier this year to drill down on airline market share, average ticket prices, missed hotel savings, TMC use, compliance and traveler tracking information, among other elements, said U.S. travel services manager Debra Reid.
"It's really a graphical representation of the business," Reid said. "We get a lot of cross-functional requests. 'How is the program doing?' 'Are we saving money?' You walk in and say, 'We're at 60 percent to 70 percent compliance,' and it's, 'What about division B?' With dashboards, you're able to drill down to divisional information, as well as passenger detail. You can use them to discover root causes in your program and see where weaknesses are, as well as risks and opportunities. It can be a staging area for an action plan. It can be a simple executive management reporting tool, but can also go into detail for further discussion with your stakeholders."
In addition to line-of-business details, some dashboards offer "what if" scenarios at the touch of a button, noted Tony Troiano of JPMorgan Chase's global travel team. He said the company focuses on data related to seven-day advance purchase, average ticket price, self-booking tool use and hotel compliance.
Regardless of the presentation, Shell's Reid noted that her firm's key technical requirements are related to data quality, reliability, timeliness and accessibility. Still, she didn't pan the pretty: "They're cool and slick-looking, which captures your attention and shows you areas you want to find out more about, including information that will impact deals we have. They kind of take boring information and ignite your interest."