Web-based information reporting is faster and cheaper

The proliferation of e-commerce and social media has brought in its own complexities of understanding different customer preferences and segmentation. However, the internet offers an exciting way of interacting with consumers when it comes to data gathering. What many marketing researchers do not realise, however, is that the web also is being used to provide more timely, user-friendly and less expensive deliverables to clients through the use of web-based information reporting sites. Specifically, they address clients’ needs for faster, cheaper and more useful information.

While most web-based information reporting sites contain sections serving various purposes, their primary purpose is distributing project results to a multitude of users. Project results usually are distributed using any combination of three types of reports: predefined, customisable and ad hoc.

Predefined reports are analogous to using the web to deliver paper reports. The reports’ format is predefined and different users can receive customised information based on their level within the organisation. While predefined reports do not take full advantage of web-based reporting’s functionality, they are convenient to use and a good way to control the information users receive.

Customisable reports allow users to choose information contained in a report by selecting from a predefined set of inputs. The data contained in customisable reports are precalculated and presummarised; users simply choose the numbers to pull. But the three major advantages to this type of report are that response time is minimised because no calculations are performed; less statistically sophisticated users can explore the data while being limited to appropriate comparisons; and most users’ data exploration needs can be fulfilled while avoiding the costs associated with adhoc reporting.

True ad hoc reporting capabilities can be incorporated into the web-based reporting systems by using an online analytical processing (OLAP) server. The OLAP server allows users to manipulate the data in virtually any way they choose and calculates results on the fly. To use OLAP properly, users must fully understand the data and its proper uses. Therefore, OLAP access should be limited to personnel who are statistically knowledgeable.

Web-based information reporting sites provide numerous advantages over traditional paper reports:

Easier and faster access to information: Information can become available to end-users as soon as it is entered and, if needed, cleaned and summarised. Users also can view their information from any location that provides internet access.

Ease of exporting information to other programmes: In a properly designed system, data and charts easily can be exported and loaded into word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. Secondary reports easily can be built.

Cost savings: Because these all are variable expenses, additional users can be added to the system at minimal additional cost. Also, because they are recurring expenses, the savings continue over the project’s lifetime.

Multimedia information: As more users gain high-speed internet access, the type of information delivered via web-based reporting sites will change.

However, the advantages of web-based reporting do not come without some costs or unique issues that must be addressed:

Internet access and connection speed: To use a web-based system, all users must have internet access and this can be a problem in organisations where corporate policies limit employees’ connections. The speed of users’ internet connections also is an important factor to consider when designing web-based systems; the type of information that can be delivered is strongly affected by the connection speed.

Web browsers and browser-level standardisation: Several web browsers with several different versions of each are on the market and different versions support different functions. When designing web-based systems, the developer and client must determine what browsers, and at what levels, their system will support.

Security: Clients often worry about information being intercepted while travelling over the internet. Using encryption technology addresses this problem by coding information before it is sent and decoding it after it reaches users’ machines.

Printing: The web’s universal language is hypertext markup language (HTML). Unfortunately, HTML can be interpreted differently from printer to printer and researchers can lose page formatting and wind up with poorly printed output. Therefore, many web-based systems use components such as ActiveX controls or Java Applets to help make sure the reports are uniformly printed.

Unique costs: While the variable costs associated with web-based information reporting are low, the fixed costs of designing and implementing web-based systems can be substantial. Factors that affect price include the size of the database, the number of generated reports, the number of reporting levels, user numbers, customisation levels for each user and the types of reports needed.

Source | Financial Chronicle | 28 July 2015