{"id":527,"date":"2021-06-21T22:14:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T02:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.softwareag.com\/?p=527"},"modified":"2026-07-30T12:20:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:20:50","slug":"data-visualization-better-insights-faster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.softwareag.com\/en\/blog\/data-integration\/data-visualization-better-insights-faster\/","title":{"rendered":"Data visualization: Better insights, faster"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Data may be king; but collecting it from dozens of sources\u2014internal and external\u2014and making it available for your users and systems can be a headache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know that when more information is readily available, you can make higher-quality decisions faster. The challenge is, that for many organizations, valuable data resides on or originates from a range of systems\u2014in particular siloed mainframes and legacy platforms. Somehow the data on these systems must be made readily available for consumption if it\u2019s to be valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unrelenting demand for data takes many forms. Business intelligence (BI) and analytics tools need real-time information to generate insights. Your users need dashboards that help them to understand trends and develop new ideas. Reporting requires a complete, accurate view of the organization. And a growing range of self-service tools rely on the ability to deliver data to any device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these use cases differ, the challenge is similar: How do you deliver real-time access to data no matter where it resides, in a way that is easy to configure, flexible, and complete? The scale of this challenge becomes clearer when you realize the diversity of data formats and sources, including siloed legacy platforms. Between 40<\/a>–80<\/a>% of enterprise data either resides or originates on the mainframe, for example. And businesses that have a history of mergers or acquisitions now find themselves relying on multiple systems that were never designed to work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An elegant data solution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Data virtualization<\/a> is an elegant, effective way to deliver this information where your people and software need it. And by connecting\u2014not just collecting\u2014your data, you can side-step the need to rely on time-consuming FTP uploads in favor of simple, flexible access to real-time data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtualization is a technique that combines all this data, from multiple sources and platforms, into a single SQL view\u2014a virtual view organized as a single relational database, which can be queried easily and consistently. Virtualization is faster than loading your data into a warehouse. And because it does not move data, it does not consume resources that might reduce the performance of your existing applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outcome: The power to deliver projects quickly and easily, leveraging your team\u2019s SQL or Excel skills<\/a>, to deliver a single view of the data you want, without moving it or creating a new data warehouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can you do with this power?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Enhance your analytics<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Virtualization enables you to extend legacy data to modern BI and analytics tools, whether they are on-premises, hybrid, or based on the cloud. Your systems only see the real-time data they need, not the complexity of the multiple underlying and non-relational data sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real-time access<\/a> is especially valuable for dashboarding, visualizations and reports. You no longer have to wait for systems to run an overnight batch process\u2014current data is available when you need it, no matter where it resides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create new self-service tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Virtualization can also be used to deliver insights to customers and citizens. You can deliver new levels of customer engagement with self-service tools using real-time data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use cases include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n