Moving Beyond Dashboards to Deliver Decisions with AI

The Insight250 spotlights and celebrates 250 of the world’s premier leaders and innovators in market research, consumer insights, and data-driven marketing. The awards have created renewed excitement across the industry whilst strengthening the connectivity of the market research community. Winners of the 2024 Insight250 were announced this past September - you can see the full list of Winners at Insight250.com.

With so many exceptional professionals named to the Insight250 we regularly tap into their expertise and unique perspectives across various topics. This regular series does just that: inquiring about the expert perspectives of many of these individuals in a series of short topical features. 

Businesses today grapple with overwhelming amounts of data, from a spectrum of internal and external sources, which are often presented through cumbersome dashboards and disconnected reports. Executives and stakeholders across the organization frequently miss critical insights due to the complexity and volume of information coming at them.

To discuss this persistent challenge I sat down with Insight250 Winner, John Sevec, Senior Vice President of Client Strategy at mTab, to understand how AI is being used to rapidly convert complex dashboards, datasets, and documents into concise, actionable narratives. John and his team have developed innovative AI-powered playbooks that allow companies to swiftly establish strategies, drive innovation, and enhance customer engagement.

Crispin: Many executives complain about dashboard fatigue and “analysis paralysis” with the sheer volume and variety of information they receive. You advise some of the largest brands in the world; how is your team tackling this persistent problem?

JS: Dashboard fatigue is a genuine barrier holding many businesses back, causing critical decisions to stall and opportunities to be overlooked. Many of our clients came to us with this issue when AI was in its infancy, so our team developed an AI Decision Intelligence solution that addresses this issue by using purpose-built AI agents that distill complex datasets, like survey results, VOC insights, sales data, and syndicated reports into precise, narrative-driven moves.

Instead of hours or days spent decoding dashboards, teams get clear, trusted narratives and actionable next steps within minutes, empowering them to swiftly set strategies and drive action.

Crispin: You’ve talked about how AI can achieve upwards of 80% cycle time reduction from raw data to executive-ready insights, how is this accomplished?

JS: Absolutely. Traditional analysis involves manually combing through dashboards, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint decks; tasks that typically consume days of valuable analyst time. Our mTab.ai solution automates these steps with specialized AI agents.

Our technology rapidly synthesizes diverse data sources and formats into concise, clear narratives, highlighting key KPIs, explaining trends, and suggesting strategic next moves. It provides specific tasks as to how to direct resources to strategically maximize results. The speed and efficiency of this reduces cycle-time reductions as high as 80%, significantly accelerating strategic decision-making, regardless of the type of company you’re operating.

Crispin: Could you provide examples of real outcomes that major brands have experienced using your AI solution?

JS: Certainly. One of our global food-industry clients dramatically transformed their process for quarterly tracking data, generating executive-ready sell-in decks in under eight hours post-field-close, compared to the previous multi-day turnarounds.

Similarly, we support a leading global media company to craft compelling advertiser pitch briefs, delivering them five times faster, which has increased the volume and quality of pitches they can get out and close. This efficiency and clarity have notably increased their RFP wins by producing sharper, more persuasive storytelling for their advertisers.

Crispin: How does one integrate such diverse and complex data from diverse sources into a single narrative?

JS: Our solution seamlessly connects a wide variety of datasets, ranging from survey results and VOC feedback to sales reports and product usage data. Our AI agents rapidly ingest and interpret these varied datasets, automatically aligning them into insights that articulate what happened, why it matters, and what actionable next steps should be taken. This holistic, story-ready output helps executives quickly grasp insights and confidently drive forward strategic initiatives. Best of all, applications are far-reaching. I mentioned creating sales decks and advertising briefs, but there are also applications for marketing campaigns, product development and many others. Practically any aspect of the business that has diverse, complex data that needs to be analyzed and understood is a candidate for our AI agents to address.

Cripin: A lot of insight leaders have concerns around data security and governance, how do you address this concern?

JS: This is one we regularly see from major companies, because they want to ensure control over their data, no matter the source, which is completely understandable. Insight leaders partner with us, not only for speed and efficiency but also for data security and governance. Our platform is built with enterprise-grade security protocols, ensuring complete privacy and compliance with stringent data regulations. Leaders can confidently use our AI solutions, knowing their sensitive data is protected, while also significantly accelerating the strategic insights cycle that drives their competitive edge.

Crispin: There’s often skepticism around AI solutions potentially replacing human analysts. How do you address this concern?

JS: We firmly believe AI should augment, not replace, human expertise. Our technology empowers analysts and strategists by taking over tedious data aggregation and intricate analysis, allowing them to focus their expertise where it's most valuable, like on strategic interpretation, innovation, and stakeholder alignment. So, it’s using AI to get the most out of your team.

Crispin: John, thank you for your time and insight into how AI is revolutionizing the way companies manage and utilize data by aligning dashboards, datasets and documents into clear, actionable strategies. It’s exciting to see actual applications of AI that are drastically reducing cycle times and enhancing productivity, enabling analysts and executives to focus on strategic thinking and decision-making rather than labor-intensive data analysis.