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The Dashboard Effect

Blue Margin Insights on Leveraging Dashboards and Data Intelligence

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2 min read

From Data Chaos to Manufacturing Clarity

From Data Chaos to Clarity: Centralizing Decision-Making in a Manufacturing Conglomerate

...
2 min read

Private Equity Has Achieved Formula One Status, But Their Car Sucks.

Private equity is the undisputed Formula One of business models. It’s a high-octane race in...

3 min read

How Data Helps You Survive Private Equity's New Era

"Operational value creation levers—revenue growth and margin expansion—are poised to become...

7 min read

M&A Science: Data’s Role in M&A Success

“Everybody talks about the art of M&A. And I get it, I'm not denying it…but I think our...

10 min read

Managed Data Service: A Turnkey, Fractional Approach to Data Management

If you're trying to keep up with the complexities, advances, and more options than ever ...

7 min read

Bridging Data & Leadership: Advice on Bold Execution for Midmarket CEOs

In this Expert Insights Series interview, Jon Thompson hosted Karen Posey, Founder of KP...

10 min read

Unlock Market Potential: B2B Mid-Market Growth Strategies with BlueByrd

In the face of economic headwinds, the complexities of mid-market growth have never been...

5 min read

Azure's New Threads: What is Microsoft Fabric?

On a recent episode of our podcast, The Dashboard Effect, Brick and Caleb provided a helpful...

5 min read

The Advantages of a Fractional Data Team for Mid-Market Companies

Navigating the landscape of data management, business intelligence, and data analytics can...

4 min read

Data Lake vs Data Lakehouse vs Data Warehouse

Download PDF version...

2 min read

How a Modern Data Platform Supports Buy-and-Build in Private Equity

Understanding PE Buy-and-Build Success Factors

Reliable buy-and-build strategies that...

2 min read

How the Mid-Market is Fast-Tracking Data Integration with Data Lakes

Data warehouses have long been the standard for consolidating and storing data, but they're...

8 min read

A Middle Market Playbook for Strategic Data Management

In the competitive midmarket landscape, data emerges as a linchpin for gaining competitive...

8 min read

Private Equity Strategy: Is Your Portfolio Ready for Generative AI?

For years, Blue Margin has been highlighting the advancing role of data in business through...

8 min read

How Data Insight Improves Performance for PE-Backed Healthcare [Interview]

In this Expert Insights Series interview, Blue Margin Director of Consulting, Kate Eberle,...

15 min read

Nestell & Associates: ERP Digital Transformation for Private Equity

As the enterprise resource planning (ERP) organizational change field advances, so does...

5 min read

How to Assess and Calculate the ROI of Data Projects [A Guide]

“Data monetization is generating new, measurable value streams from available data assets.”                      ...

2 min read

Chronograph and Blue Margin Announce Partnership [Press Release]

We're deepening our relationships within private equity and are excited to announce our...

14 min read

How ParkerGale Supports Portfolio Growth with a Sales Metrics Playbook

In this Expert Insights Series episode, Blue Margin co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer...

14 min read

CIO Insights on Data Monetization, Data Lakes, and AI

In this podcast, Blue Margin co-founder and CEO Brick Thompson hosts CIO John Manzanares. ...

22 min read

Middle Market Methods: A Value Creation Roadmap™ for Private Equity

“The portfolio company’s leadership team must take ownership of its investment thesis and...

5 min read

In the Age of AI, You Need a Data Lake(house) in the First 100 Days

“I have a feeling we're going to see Microsoft, because of their partnership with OpenAI and...

12 min read

BI Strategies for 2023: Insights from PE and Mid-Market Executives

What is your 2023 data strategy?

If the question leaves you feeling adrift, consider this...

15 min read

Weave Growth Partners on Private Equity's Late Adoption of Data-Driven Practices

“It’s very much a human effort here. The numbers don’t lie, but we also need to transform...

2 min read

Mastering Inventory Velocity - Power BI Case Study

“Data and analytics should play a big part in monitoring your business supply chain...

7 min read

Best Practice Dashboards and KPIs for Manufacturing in Private Equity

"Despite generally high levels of economic confidence, U.S. middle market manufacturing...

10 min read

Brian T. O'Neill – Value Creation with BI Through Human Centered Design

“The gateway to achieving business value [with BI] is user adoption. You cannot circumvent...

11 min read

BI Projects That Drive Financial Transformation, Insights from a PMO Leader

“Data intelligence is the key to driving business decision-making and strategy. – Tracy...

9 min read

Data: A Powerful Change Agent, with Anthony Algmin

What’s the purpose of data collection?

According to Anthony Algmin, a luminary in the art of...

10 min read

One Rock Capital: Top Line Growth Strategies

Gone are the days of multiples arbitrage and financial engineering to bolster exit...

9 min read

Power ON: Scenario Planning and Write-Back in Power BI

“Data is the new oil. Like oil, data is valuable. But if it’s unrefined, it can’t be used.”

8 min read

Trace3's VP of IT: Accelerate Value Creation with a Company OKR Scorecard

“Data is the new economy.” -Tania DiCostanzo, VP of IT, Strategic Initiatives and Data...

23 min read

How to Fire Your BI Vendor

“If they want to be self-sufficient, we want to help them do that.” - Brick Thompson, CEO,...

4 min read

Standing Up an OKR Scorecard to Accelerate Value Creation [Case Study]

Download PDF version

“You can’t measure that which lacks a...

13 min read

Industrial Growth Partners: Leveraging Data Throughout the Investment Lifecycle

If you can create and develop those systems, which is difficult to do in a short time...

21 min read

How to Get the Right Data, to the Right People, at the Right Time

What do 1950’s IBM and present-day McDonald's have in common?

They're both great examples...

27 min read

What to Look for When Hiring a Power BI Consultant

“Our clients ask us to interview people when they're looking to bring the visualization...

15 min read

Forbes’ “Grandfather of Gamification”: Data Creates a Culture of Growth

Charles “Chuck” Coonradt is a consultant, CEO, and 5x best-selling author. His 1984 book The...

19 min read

BI for Law Firms: Tracking WIP, Client/Matter Performance, and DEI

"There are two key questions every firm that we've worked with has wanted to answer... The...

4 min read

Distribution Turns to Data to Increase Margins and Recover Rebates

"The sky is the limit once you see what your data can do for your system." - Director of...

22 min read

How Private Equity Uses Data-Driven Insights to Generate Alpha

“A data-driven approach is a valuable built-in asset you can add to a company. Almost by...

10 min read

Tenex Capital: How Private Equity Uses Data to Improve Portfolio Operations

“Too many portfolio companies have not invested in tech for too many years and find...

5 min read

The Foundation for Digital Transformation Growth Strategies

KPMG recently released their 2022 CEO Outlook, seeking the perspectives of 1,325 global CEOs...

6 min read

Data Transformation and Change Management

72% of high-performing organizations—those that embrace a culture that promotes constant...

6 min read

Data-Driven Change Management

Why is Data Driven Change Management Important?

If data science was a tool in a...

11 min read

Change Management and the Power of Data for Distributed Decision Making

“Despite the tools available, people still use their intuition to make people decisions....

26 min read

How to Build an Effective (Power BI) Dashboard

“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow...

3 min read

How to Become a Data-Driven Organization

"Right now, the biggest challenge for organizations working on their data strategy might...

56 min read

Tecum Capital: Using Data for Higher Returns in Manufacturing, Services, and Distribution

“If you don’t have any type of dashboarding or KPI system, it’s a major deduction on the...

15 min read

Pitfalls of Manual Excel Reporting

“Implementing business intelligence and automated reporting is the ultimate low-hanging...

23 min read

Using BI to Create Accountability and a Healthy Culture

“I've seen companies go from poor transparency and not very good accountability to a culture...

24 min read

Who is Your Data Mobilizer?

“I’m looking for a company’s ‘data mobilizer’...that individual with buy-in from the top,...

14 min read

Successful Dashboards: How Wireframing Saves Time and Delivers Results

With BI reporting, you will greatly reduce project time and increase impact by spending more...

37 min read

Notch Partners: Finding Executives for the Right Deal at the Right Time

Andy Thompson is founder and CEO of Notch Partners, a boutique executive talent consultancy...

8 min read

Data and the Art of Exploiting Headwinds

"BI provides real-time visibility into current signals, so leaders can make proactive...

4 min read

Using BI to Adapt to Market Forces, Improve Utilization, and Increase Profitability

Download PDF version

The transformative effect of their...

21 min read

When to Use an External BI Consultant

While some companies choose to manage their data strategy and BI projects internally, many...

22 min read

For the PE-Backed Executive, Data Insights are Indispensable

“When you don't have good instrumentation, you spend a lot of time worrying about what you...

5 min read

2 Essential Ingredients of Successful Data Projects

On The Dashboard Effect podcast, Brick Thompson, Blue Margin CEO, and Caleb Ochs, VP of...

11 min read

Andy Scott, CTO, on Data Driven vs. Non-Data Driven Companies

In this installment of our Expert Insights Series, Jon Thompson hosts technology and...

10 min read

Succeed with BI: Manage Data Sources, Integration, and Redundancy

In our podcast episode, How to Succeed With BI: Types of Data Sources and Data Integration,...

3 min read

Improve Machine and Labor Utilization with Power BI Dashboards

Download PDF version...

6 min read

The Quick Path to Winning with Data and Dashboards

In their podcast episode, How to Quickly Get BI Wins, Blue Margin CEO, Brick Thompson, and...

8 min read

Tactical BI for CFOs: a Blue Margin Webinar

“Visibility is the most efficient way to create a healthy culture and to move a company...

4 min read

Power BI Dashboards Drive Growth for Buy-and-Build Strategy

Buy-and-Build Case Study - PDF version

According to Charles Coonradt, author of The

7 min read

The Tide is Changing: Use BI to Capitalize on Uncertainty

The tide is changing. Asset classes that have been teeming with possibilities for the...

8 min read

Jill Belconis on Scaling Business with Clarity and (Data) Alignment

Jill Belconis, career CEO and former YPO International Chairman, is an accomplished business...

5 min read

Carter Freeman: The Strategic CFO and Using Data to Tell the Story

"As companies grow, financial leaders are wanting more purpose-built applications that can...

3 min read

Finding Success Despite Market Force Disruptions: Managing with Data Visibility

The need to adapt to market disruption is staring us in the face. If we are brave enough to...

10 min read

How To Assess Acquisition Value Through Data Diligence

“Companies that are more sophisticated from a data perspective are also more valuable. They...

7 min read

Visibility & Manager vs Mentor Tug-of-War in Private Equity

Article summary: Discover how data helps solve the manager vs mentor tug-of-war in private...

15 min read

Leaders Who Lead: 3 Principles (enabled by data) for Successful PE Investing

Article summary: Discover insight for portco team management from leaders who lead leaders.

17 min read

Adam Coffey and The Exit Strategy Playbook [Interview Highlights]

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to sit down once again with Adam Coffey, #1...

33 min read

Interview: Adam Coffey and The Exit Strategy Playbook [Watch Now]

Jon Thompson, Cofounder and Chief Strategy Officer at Blue Margin, sits down with Adam...

31 min read

Dashboard Design to Ensure Adoption

If your business intelligence isn’t easy enough, your users will fail to adopt. Adoption is...

7 min read

Best Practices for Data Warehouse Architecture

Download PDF version...

14 min read

Data Warehouse Essentials for Dashboard Reporting in PE-backed Companies

Article Summary: A paraphrased excerpt from The Dashboard Effect highlighting the benefits...

4 min read

Artificial Intelligence - Stop Tripping Over Dollars to Pick Up Dimes

Few would argue that companies operating across traditional industries (e.g., manufacturing,

4 min read

Power BI vs Excel

Article summary: Learn why Power BI, a cloud-based, centralized source for data insights, is...

12 min read

6 Strategies for Supply Chain Data Management

Article summary: Supply chains are constantly evolving. Here are 6 moves you should be...
5 min read

Private Equity Advantage: Data Intelligence Strategies You Can Steal

Article summary:  See why Private Equity succeeds—and how you can use that knowledge to your...

6 min read

How Can PE Firms Differentiate Through Digital Transformation?

Article summary: Learn the data optimization strategies PE firms can use to differentiate...

8 min read

3 Business Intelligence Trends Every Manufacturer Needs To Know

Article summary: Learn how to use data optimization strategies and business intelligence to a

6 min read

Why Data Initiatives Fail at Law Firms

Article summary: Do you know why data initiatives fail at law firms—and what you can do...
6 min read

How Data Optimization Increases Distribution Performance

Apparently, we should blame Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen for the offense. 

A...

7 min read

3 Trends in Legal Data Intelligence

Here are three key trends we're watching in the legal industry and the data optimization...

5 min read

How to Develop New Initiatives Free From Bias or Assumptions

The Dashboard Effect is a ground-breaking book about how companies are using data to move to...

9 min read

Yes, Healthcare Employees Keep Score

Article summary: Discover the benefits of data transparency in a healthcare provider...

3 min read

3 Ways to Automate Employee Motivation & Productivity with Dashboards

Your employees want (and need) to understand the rules of the game they’re playing. While it...

3 min read

Why You Should Take Advantage of Power BI for Your Commercial Services Company

Data is the driving force of the most progressive and successful companies and is more...

9 min read

The Hidden Bazinga of Dirty Data

Article summary: What can you do when the hidden Bazinga of dirty data plays tricks on your...

9 min read

3 Unexpected KPIs that Drive Manufacturing Success

Article summary: Looking for new ideas for tracking real progress at your company? Check out...

7 min read

3 Mistakes Good Leaders Make

Article summary: Can you avoid the top 3 data mistakes good leaders make? Read on to find...

2 min read

Jon Thompson Guests on: The Manufacturing Executive [Watch Now]

Watch the Video Now

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8 min read

Healthcare HQ™ Trendwatch [Doctor Demand, Telehealth, and Ransomware]

Article summary: Healthcare HQ™ Trendwatch spotlights trending developments in the medical...

6 min read

Adam Coffey and The Private Equity Playbook [Cover Story]

Article summary: Adam Coffey, CEO of CoolSys, shares business intelligence secrets from his...

5 min read

Data Wins Championships [The Mahomes Factor]

Article summary: Data helps your company compete to win. Those that understand how data wins...

4 min read

Moneyball for Business: How Dashboards Transform Companies

Let’s recap.

In our last article, we talked about how “dashboards” (displaying...

3 min read

Why Data Intelligence is THE Critical Path to Growth for Business

For many private equity firms, managing a portfolio of companies can feel more like...

4 min read

Power BI And Google Analytics: A Match Made In Big Data Heaven

Near the end of March, Microsoft announced that Power BI would now be able to...

5 min read

The Latest from Harvard:  Motivate Employees with Your Data

At Blue Margin, we’ve experimented with various tactics to motivate our employees and...

3 min read

Why BI for Small Businesses?

Why does the average small company need business intelligence? Almost without exception,...

3 min read

Two Big Data And Dashboard Mistakes Private Equity Firms Make

Data is trending, and while private equity deal teams increasingly give lip service to the...

6 min read

The Dirt on Big Data

There are always some phrases we use without really knowing what they mean - think "The...

2 min read

The 2nd Cause of the IN-Visible Enterprise

Information Silos. It can be argued that information is the life-blood of any company and...

2 min read

The #1 Flaw of the IN-Visible Enterprise

First, let’s consider the preeminent responsibility in running a business: defining the...

1 min read

Streaming Data Sets in Power BI Just Got Easier

Microsoft just made streaming datasets a whole lot easier in Power BI. For the past year,...

6 min read

Reaching New Business Heights with The Dashboard Effect

It's Time for Private Equity to Join the (4th Industrial) Revolution!

Data is increasingly...

3 min read

Is Excel the Next Killer App for Business Intelligence?

While companies use a variety of different business intelligence (BI) tools and...

4 min read

Private Equity Turns to Business Intelligence to Maximize Investments

Private Equity investors make investment decisions based on balance sheets and P&L...

2 min read

Power BI, Microsoft's Outlier on the 2017 Gartner Magic Quadrant

Power BI now outranks Tableau, Qlik, Domo, Cognos . . . heck, everyone.

For the tenth...

3 min read

Power BI Solves Seattle Bar's Operating Inefficiencies, Saves $30k/yr

What could your business do with an extra $30,000 a year? By implementing Microsoft Power BI...

2 min read

Power BI iPhone App - Don't Leave Home Without It

For reasons like this and this, Power BI is one of the fastest growing business...

4 min read

Power BI and Gartner's "Magic Quadrant"

There's BIG news in the BI world, of the magical sort.

Gartner just released their Magic...

1 min read

Power BI & Sharepoint: Quite Possibly the Best Integration Yet

Folks, we’ve been waiting for this feature release

Microsoft just announced Power BI’s...

3 min read

Our Hometown of Fort Collins: Beer, Bikes, Bands, and Adventures

Why is Blue Margin headquartered in Fort Collins instead of Denver (since one of our...

4 min read

Our "Secret Sauce" for Creating Power BI Dashboards that GET ADOPTED

Fact: The difference between dashboards that just "look good," and those that get adopted...

4 min read

News Flash: BI is Essential For Business

Countless articles have been written about the growth of data analytics and business...

2 min read

Microsoft Buys Mobile BI Leader Datazen

In a move that backs up its promise to be "mobile first, cloud first," Microsoft announced...

3 min read

Just Turn It On!

I recently stumbled across a site called notalwaysright.com, which is dedicated to...

8 min read

How To Implement Portfolio Analytics To Manage Your PE Portfolio

In the race to increase portfolio company value through add-ons, improved gross margins, and...

4 min read

How To Compare Business Intelligence Software

In recent years, there is no business discipline that has moved to the forefront of the...

3 min read

How To Align Deal Teams and Executive Teams Using Company Scorecards

"Transparency is not just a buzzword; it may be a necessity for business survival in the...

6 min read

How Manufacturing Uses Dashboards To Increase Profitability

Deloitte provides a clear and simple answer to this question in their “Analytics for...

2 min read

How Private Equity Firms Keep Data Chaos From Depleting Portco Value

Middle market private equity firms share a common denominator: their portfolio companies...

4 min read

How Manufacturers Use Data Intelligence To Increase Accountability

“If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” – Henry...

5 min read

Forrester Report: Expert Insights on the BI Industry

What J.D. Power reports are to consumer products, Forrester Wave(tm) reports are to...

5 min read

Effective BI Is Like A Veggie Burger... (5 Key Characteristics)

Business Intelligence (BI) technology is quickly becoming commonplace in companies of every...

3 min read

Do You Really Need a Data Warehouse? (Part 2)

In case you need to get caught up . . .

In our last data warehouse post, we talked about how...

3 min read

Do You Really Need a Data Warehouse? (Part 1)

Data warehouses sound like a pain. And if you don't have a data architect on staff (who has...

6 min read

Do BI Dashboards Really Work?

If you’ve read a few of my articles, you know that I love to talk about business...

3 min read

Cutting Through the Noise with Power BI Data Visualizations

"Our ability to make sense of the 'signals' from all the 'noise' in our data is paramount...
4 min read

Business Intelligence Won't Help Your Business, unless . . .

We are at an exciting time in the world of business technology. People are becoming more and...

3 min read

Business Intelligence Software: A Quick Comparison

As Business Intelligence”(i.e., data analytics and dashboards) plays an ever-increasing...

3 min read

Business Intelligence for SMB's? C'mon man!

While we all have our challenges with MS products, (Just image search “Windows 8 memes” if...

2 min read

Blue Margin Releases VSTS Solution Template for Power BI

Blue Margin, Inc., Microsoft Gold Partner in Data Analytics and Data Platform just released...

3 min read

Blue Margin Named Colorado Companies to Watch Award Winner

The Blue Margin team is excited to announce that we have been named a "50Colorado Company...

4 min read

BI For Everyone

Business intelligence is now a profit generating tool for Small to Medium Size Businesses...

1 min read

Are You Missing the Data Train? HBR Thinks So

That’s right.  Unless you work in the retail sector (which has used data analytics to capture 

5 min read

7 ½ Reasons a Data Warehouse is Worth the Investment

Chances are, if you're reading this article, you're thinking about investing in a data...

3 min read

5 Ways Leading Manufacturers Use Data to Improve Culture and Operations

Complex logistics, multiple data sources, tight order-to-cash timelines . . . for virtually...

2 min read

4 Ways Microsoft Power BI Supercharges Your Business

1.You can’t change what you can’t see.

Power BI takes your vital business data and...

8 min read

4 Key Benefits of Business Intelligence Available to Midsize Businesses

Business intelligence is a term that has been widely used, but it generally describes a...

3 min read

The Ostrich Problem Applied to Business Performance

I recently read an awesome article by Dr. Christian Jarrett called “The Ostrich Problem” and...