Your Questions Answered: How GoodData Empowers Nordic Companies To Grow With Analytics

In collaboration with IT consultancy firm Hackberry, we recently hosted a webinar to highlight how Nordic customers use analytics to grow their businesses. Representatives of two Hackberry clients, Boozt and Brandr, joined the event to discuss how they use GoodData’s platform to make the most of the available data.

Topics covered included:

• How embedded analytics can maximize the impact of your data.
• How Hackberry integrates data into its operations and customer offerings.
• How Boozt is using analytics to grow its online fashion business.
• How data analysis and its visualization has enabled marketing agency Brandr to create its own digital platform (the Brandr index) to offer additional value to clients.

If you were unable to attend the webinar you can still watch it here.

During the session, we asked attendees to submit questions for the speakers. Their answers offered additional insight into how GoodData helps companies to maximize their analytics. Below are some of our favorite questions and answers.

Brandr, you collect data using surveys to evaluate the position of a brand. How many people do you send the survey to, and how many questions does it include?

The survey includes about 30 items that measure the positioning of brands, as well as a few other questions. In total, it consists of slightly more than 40 questions, which take about four minutes to answer.

The number of people invited to participate in the survey can vary. It depends on a few factors. Our focus is to get answers from a sample big enough to fairly represent the target audience of the measured brand. For very niche B2B brands, relatively few answers can be enough to cover a large share of the whole population. The population, in this case, is the current or potential customer of the measured brand.

Once the answers have been compiled, almost all of our customers choose to receive a detailed workshop along with their report — where the results are reviewed with one of our branding consultants. We then offer additional services to our clients, such as further research and strategic consultation.

When it comes to presenting the data, it looks like there are two design solutions available. One option involves a completely new build, the other is more out-of-the-box. Why did you choose to go down your own route with your design?

At Brandr we believe that it is crucial to have data on your brand, but we also know that it is highly important that this data can be easily interpreted, easily shared, and understood within organizations. This is why we have always put such great importance on how we present our data. We want to create an environment where people can access data about their brand clearly and intuitively.

This is a question for Boozt. How long did it take to implement the desired solution?

The first big release of the project took 5-6 months (Jan-May/June); with different workshops, wireframes, and ETL. We then tested it during the summer and decided to add more features before our big release on December 1.

How often is your data updated? And why did you choose this specific interval?

The data is updated every day. It is crucial for ourselves (and our partners) to monitor the data and performance on a daily basis so that we can take action. In the future, we hope to update several times a day, so the numbers are real-time.

If Boozt acquires additional partners, does it become more expensive to use GoodData?

The short answer is no. GoodData charges a fixed price per workspace, which means you can encourage as many end users as possible to use your analytics solution without your customers (or you) worrying about additional financial costs. Another advantage of this is that it becomes easier to forecast revenue and profit margin, both short- and long-term.

You mention that the data analytics are embedded. What are the benefits of this and how can it help me?

Embedding analytics into your software product means they become a part of your application or web portal. When you want to see your data you needn’t sign in to another platform. The appearance can seamlessly match your company branding. The data is easily accessible and ready to use in your daily activities, allowing you to make data-driven decisions.

Is the API endpoint the same for GoodData Cloud and GoodData Platform?

While some of the features might overlap, the APIs for GoodData Platform and GoodData Cloud are quite different. They use different endpoints and structures, different authentication, and in some cases provide different features. For this reason, we’ve created different documentation to cover the issue of APIs in GoodData Cloud and APIs in GoodData Platform.

I’m worried I don’t have the technical skills to create dashboards, reports, etc. Is GoodData a self-service platform?

The platform was designed with the end user in mind. So you certainly don't need to be a technical expert to use it. With its drag-and-drop features, you can easily create dashboards or reports and dive deep into your data. If you’re concerned the platform might be too technical, you can try it for yourself by signing up for a free trial here.

I would like to ask Hackberry how long it takes to create a minimum viable product (MVP)? When will the first iteration of an application be ready to be shared with the customer?

Wow, always a tricky one. How long is a piece of string? Seriously though, there is an answer in that the time it takes to create an MVP should be as short and sweet as possible. If it's too long then it's not an MVP, and then we might need to challenge the customer a little.

To answer your question properly, we need to split it up a bit. Assuming data-prep, KPI definition, data access, and the like are done already, then maybe 4-6 weeks? In that I include defining a sample dashboard, charts, and user actions/outcomes, setting up Gooddata & admin, simple embedding and white labeling, etc.

How does Hackberry think people will consume data analytics in the future — in terms of desktop/mobile/wearables?

It’s a very interesting question. Not sure to be honest. Obviously, the general trend is that more and more "internet time" is moving to mobile devices, whether that be mobile banking, reading news, watching videos, and so on.

The overall goal with embedding is for the analytics to be in the work process/environment/tool that the user already has. Perhaps this builds the case for even more mobile device use.

At the same time, most of us still spend the majority of our working hours on a desktop or laptop of sorts. So it depends on the use case, and how/when the user chooses to consume that particular information.

As for wearables, I’m not too keen. We certainly haven't seen many B2B applications requiring a wearable app, but there is some B2C use of course. It's easy to imagine notifications and simple KPIs on a wearable, triggering the user to view more on another device. But is there an actual need for that? In my humble opinion, not much.

Ready To Learn More?

Want to learn more about how GoodData can help you to maximize the impact of your data? Watch the whole webinar or start a free trial to try out GoodData analytics yourself.