Business Intelligence Companies & Consultants in Mount Prospect, IL

Datastory is a location intelligence company based in Mount Prospect, Illinois. It helps organizations interpret geographic information so they can make stronger decisions about markets, sites and planning. The firm pairs software with consulting, which lets clients use geographic information system (GIS) technology without buying, building or maintaining a complicated system themselves.

For buyers comparing business intelligence vendors, Datastory's specialty is spatial analysis: demographic, consumer and market data are shown on interactive maps, making place-based patterns easier to notice and use.

Products

The flagship product is MapDash, a web-based software-as-a-service application. It turns scattered data into organized map layers, supported by analysis tools. Every subscriber can reach more than 150 curated layers from leading industry sources, plus layers created through analytics rooted in data science. The platform is built on Esri ArcGIS technology. The lineup includes:

• MapDash, preconfigured for particular industries and adjustable to include a client's own data, custom insights and reporting templates
• MapDash + Analytics, which adds targeted analysis of sites, people and markets, delivered through a visualization tool called MapDash Exec
• MapDash Express
• Market Insight Reports

Services and working style

Organizations needing more than the standard setup can have the Datastory team adapt MapDash to their circumstances. The team can transform and visualize a client's proprietary data, bring in extra datasets curated from public and third-party sources, and apply advanced location analytics. It also creates interactive reporting templates and presentations grounded in data, and it offers guidance on linking existing technology and GIS resources to the platform. Fees for these services are quoted before a sale is finalized.

A client from the publishing world described the experience as a genuine partnership. Their account highlights clear communication, efficient work, willingness to make requested adjustments, thorough training for staff once the project ended, and continued responsiveness afterward.

Industries and client examples

MapDash is configured for retail, real estate, real estate development, manufacturing, education and nonprofit users. Examples drawn from client comments include:

• WareSpace, a real estate business that used Datastory's insights to build its first portfolio by focusing on small businesses and creative entrepreneurs.
• Auburn Career Center in Concord, Ohio, whose superintendent credits MapDash with providing a data structure for current operations and future planning.
• Livability, a publisher that required a large quantity of data to be sourced, formatted and delivered quickly for a high-stakes project.

Background and philosophy

Datastory describes its people as a blend of analysts, scientists, communicators and strategists, supported by a 25-year record in the location intelligence field. It is a long-term Esri Partner and relies on ArcGIS technology and Esri's authoritative demographic data. The company also works closely with outside industry experts and selected affiliate companies so that its services stay relevant to each sector.

Its guiding view is that intuition combines experience with available information, and that people absorb visual material faster than any other kind. Placing complex data on an intuitive map, the company argues, supercharges that intuition and helps leaders decide with greater confidence.