Recently, I was a guest speaker in a webinar that Domo and the Aberdeen Group hosted on the topic of Business Intelligence for C-level executives. Given that I’ve spent two decades working with executives at companies both large and small to deploy business intelligence solutions, I’m no stranger to the topic and was excited to be able to share my experience in the online event. However, as the day of the event drew near, I found myself getting nervous. Not a lot nervous, but nervous nonetheless.
My trepidation surprised me a little, until I realized that the cause of my apprehension wasn’t the content of the webinar but the delivery format. Although I’ve done webinars in the past, the software we used was new to me; I wasn’t familiar with it. We rehearsed the presentation a couple days before the event, but it wasn’t enough time for me to really learn how the new software worked. When the actual webinar started, I found my nervousness fade quickly as the event progressed without a hitch and, in fact, the software we used worked flawlessly and made the presentation experience an enjoyable one.
My experience with the new webinar software is not at all dissimilar to someone who has been used to looking at data in a traditional BI reporting tool and then is suddenly faced with consuming that same information in a new, visual solution. The data is exactly the same, but the format and method of viewing and interacting with the information is completely different. It can take a while to get used to, and it’s important to allow users time to acclimate to a new way of doing things. Given time, not only can the new experience be enjoyable and more productive, but – when executed correctly – users will wonder how they ever lived without it. That’s exactly what I experienced with the new webinar software.
By the way, if you get a chance you should check out the webinar. If you’re reading this blog then I’m certain the content will be relevant and informative for you. I’m not going to vouch for my performance, but I can say with confidence that the technology used to deliver it was top-notch.