This is a first of the four part series. Here, I would be discussing data visualization from the perspective of various stakeholders.
Today, I will discuss about the firms who have invested and continues to put more and more money to enhance and maintain their data visualization capabilities.
Those who understand data visualization, appreciates its benefits. They usually take the below routes to develop data visualization capability in their organization:
- Develop the capabilities in-house
- Hire a third party vendor
By developing the capabilities in house you fully controls how your data visualization capability is managed. However, there are two problems which you need to deal with:
- Investing in Infrastructure
- Hire/Manage resource
Unfortunately, Infrastructure cost varies widely depending on the tools, license and other IT capabilities you want procure. So, if you are not aware of all the products available in the market, you will end up buying something far more sophisticated than what your requirement is. You don’t want to buy a gun to kill a mosquito.
Hiring a resource is another challenge which you need to deal with. It is very difficult to find a resource who has a good understanding of your domain in addition of being a good visualizer. Even if you are able to find such a resource, hiring him will prove to be cost prohibitive if you are not able to keep her occupy (which normally would be the case). The other option is to hire a garden variety resource who do not understand your domain at all. The problem here is although they would be great in creating stunning visuals, they will not be able to understand your requirement. Further, there is always a danger of them (both of the above) leaving you for better opportunities, compelling you to redo the exercise again.
Hiring a third part vendor mitigates the above issues because:
- They are aware of all the solution available in the market and will suggest the optimal solution which best suits your need
- They have in house domain experts which acts as a bridge between you and visualizer
However, most of the vendors follow the policy of customer lock-in. Initially, they would seem to be cost effective but over a period of time they make sure you begin to depend on them. Also, there is always a fear of data privacy when data leaves your premise.
Perfview Management Consulting gives all the benefits of hiring a third party vendor. Additionally, Perfview also believes that the owner should always be control of her data. So, we always chart out an exit strategy detailing the objective, timeline and hand over procedure with all our clients.
Next week, I will focus on business/IT managers who are evaluating various options of developing data visualization capabilities in their organization.