As we enter the new year, many SaaS companies are about to begin the process of evaluating embedded analytics tools for their SaaS applications. If you’re a SaaS product manager looking for an embedded analytics solution, we know you have a lot to consider. Embedded analytics can add a lot of value for your end users, but if you pick the wrong solution, it can also create a lot of headaches and cost you a lot of wasted time, money and effort.
Here are five quick tips to a successful embedded analytics evaluation for product management leaders.
#1 Customizability Is Key
Embedded analytics need to look seamless inside your product to foster trust and promote adoption. It doesn’t matter how good your analytics are, if they look out of place inside your product, you won’t have a winning solution. Look for embedded analytics white labeling options that give you control over the look and feel of charts, reports, dashboards and widgets.
#2 Scalability Is Essential
The serverless revolution is here to stay as an application architecture standard. Unfortunately, most legacy BI tools built for internal use are still server-based solutions. A serverless solution will help ensure your analytics will scale to thousands of users, but also won’t cost you a fortune in the process. Check out our cost comparison here.
#3 Data Types Matter
You might just need analytics for a few SQL-based datasets today, but we all know that the world is moving more and more to semi- and unstructured data. You need an analytics solution that can accept all types of data and be able to easily connect to third-party data as well.
#4 Ease Of Use Is Your Best Friend
Users demand simplicity. Your analytics need to be both interactive and powerful, but also approachable and easy to use. BI trends are shifting again and SaaS end users aren’t just requesting the ability to customize their reports, they’ll change software vendors over this feature so make sure they are able to get started easily with minimal training.
#5 Include Your Developers Early
Your users aren’t the only ones you need to keep happy with your embedded analytics. Your developers need to gain productivity by choosing to buy vs build a customizable analytics feature. If integrating your data, SSO and adding visualizations becomes an efficiency lag rather than a boost, you won’t be able to maximize your investment. Learn more about our low-code developer options here.
Want to learn even more about modern embedded analytics on AWS? Download our FREE Product Fit Guide to choose the perfect embedded analytics solution for your SaaS applications.