Creating Compelling Proofs of Concept Using Bold BI Dashboard Embedding
Every great innovation begins with an idea, but the path from concept to implementation often feels like an insurmountable journey. The good news is that you can streamline this process and make your ideas tangible with the right tools and techniques. In this blog, we’ll demonstrate how Bold BI dashboards can be your secret weapon in turning proofs of concept into reality, all while impressing stakeholders and decision-makers along the way.
Installation and deployment
Checking system compatibility of the Bold BI platform, purchasing licenses, and installing it within your current infrastructure are the first steps.
If you already have an account, you can download and install the Bold BI, which provides on-premises and cloud-based solutions.
Once the deployment is completed, follow the application startup process to complete the Bold BI Embedded Server activation process.
Now let’s look at how you can connect a data source to your application.
Creating a data source
Connecting Bold BI to a data source allows you to access, retrieve, and work with the data necessary to build meaningful proofs of concept (POCs). With support for 150+ data sources, Bold BI allows you to connect and transform various data sources from your preferred storage.
In Bold BI, click Data Sources in the left navigation bar to access the data sources page.
Select your data source from the list of supported data connectors.
After selecting your connector, provide the connection information for your data source, including the source type, connection settings, and login information.
Once the source is authenticated, preview and connect the data. Make any preparatory or transformational changes to the data source in the data source designer page then save it. The data source will be listed on the Data Sources page as shown in the following image. You can also embed data sources in your application as demonstrated in this blog.
Now that the data is available in Bold BI, let’s visualize it by creating an interactive dashboard.
Creating a dashboard
Bold BI allows you to create compelling dashboards with its easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. To start a new dashboard, click the plus (+) icon at the top left of the Bold BI home page and select Start from Scratch.
A window will appear asking you to provide the dashboard name. Once provided, you’ll be directed to a new dashboard designer page as shown in the following image.
Bold BI’s 35+ widgets allow you to visualize your data in the clearest way possible. Select your preferred widget and then drag and drop it to the dashboard designer canvas. Configure the data for it from the created data source.
You can apply customization such as filtering, drill down, linking, and sorting to the data inside the widget so that only relevant data is visualized as per your needs. You can also embed a widget alone in your application as shown in this blog.
Following this process, visualize all the data you need to and then publish the dashboard. Once published, you can share the dashboard with stakeholders.
Once we’ve created the interactive dashboard in Bold BI, let’s look at how we can secure the data in the embedded application.
User security
Bold BI offers robust security features such as authentication, authorization, role-based access control, row-level security, encryption, audit trails, and secure collaboration.
In the dashboard we created, click the dashboard parameter icon in the data source designer and configure the user filter in the dashboard parameter filters in manual mode. This restricts the data access so that only the selected users and groups can access data from the specified field as shown in the following images, demonstrating row-level security.
These features ensure sensitive data is protected, unauthorized access is prevented, and only user actions that you decide are acceptable are permitted. This delivers POCs that present the vision you want to share with decision-makers and stakeholders.
With Bold BI, you can also embed your POC dashboards in JavaScript applications as documented here. To perform this, the following Embed SDK URL must be included in your HTML page’s head tag.
You must insert a div element with your own id name in the body tag. The dashboard will be embedded using this element.
Add a function to create a Bold BI instance with the properties necessary for your dashboard to the body tag of the JavaScript application, and use the onload attribute to invoke the function in the body. Call the loadDashboard() function as well. Refer to the following image and this documentation.
The application also incorporates an authorization endpoint, connecting it to the Bold BI server. The dashboard will now render in your JavaScript application as shown in the following image.
You can also embed your dashboards in Angular applications as discussed in this blog.
Creating compelling proofs of concept is not just about ideas; it’s about data-driven design. With Bold BI dashboard embedding, organizations have a clear path to success, from raw data to a dashboard that visualizes and backs up their plans for future products. It’s a journey that empowers them to turn concepts into actions, driving innovation.
Originally published at https://www.boldbi.com on December 15, 2023.
