Effective Content Organization and Data Separation in Bold BI

Managing dashboards efficiently in Bold BI® requires a structured approach to content organization and data separation. Without proper organization, dashboards can become cluttered, making it difficult for users to find relevant information. Additionally, securing sensitive data and restricting access to specific users is crucial, especially in multi-tenant environments.

Bold BI offers two key features to help with content management:

1. Sites – Used for data separation and security control, ensuring that different teams, clients, or environments remain isolated.
2. Categories – Used for organizing dashboards within a site, providing better navigation and access control.

By understanding when to use Sites and Categories, organizations can streamline dashboard management, enhance security, and improve user experience.

Understanding Sites in Bold BI

What is a Site?

A Site in Bold BI is an independent workspace that contains its own dashboards, users, data sources, and access control. Sites allow organizations to completely isolate different teams, clients, or environments from each other.

When to Use Sites?

• Multi-Tenant Environments: Ideal for serving multiple clients who must not access each other’s data.
• Strict Data Security Needs: Necessary when confidential information must be kept separate.
• Different Product Environments: Useful for managing development, staging, and production dashboards separately.
• Regional Data Restrictions: Important when different countries have data localization laws requiring separate environments.

How Sites Help Data Security and Separation?

• Users in one site cannot access dashboards or data sources from another site.
• Separate authentication and permission settings can be configured for each site.
• Data remains isolated, significantly reducing security risks.

Best Practices for Site Management

• Use Meaningful Site Names: For example, names like “North America Analytics” or “HR_Dashboards” can enhance clarity.
  
  
• Assign Site-Specific Administrators: This helps in delegating responsibility effectively.
• Regularly Review Site Usage: To optimize performance and ensure that resources are being used efficiently.

How to Move Dashboards from One Site to Another?

Migrating dashboards between sites can be necessary when restructuring or reorganizing data. Here are some methods to do so:

• Download & Upload: Export a dashboard from one site and import it into another site by using Download and upload options.
• Internal/External Site Publish: Publish a dashboard from an internal site to an external one. Please refer to the Internal and External publishing for better understanding.

By implementing these strategies, organizations can manage their dashboards in Bold BI more effectively, ensuring that users have access to the information they need while maintaining data security and organization.

Understanding Categories in Bold BI

What is a Category?

A Category is like a folder within the Bold BI Application, allowing users to group and manage dashboards effectively. By utilizing categories, teams can structure their content to enhance accessibility and control over the information presented.

When to Use Categories?

Categories are particularly useful in several scenarios:

• Departmental Grouping: When dashboards need to be organized by specific departments such as Finance, HR, or Sales, categories provide a clear structure.
• Report Management: Categories help distinguish between different types of reports, such as Operational Reports or Executive Dashboards, when managing them.
• Access Control: Categories allow for more granular control over user access, enabling permissions to be set at a category level within a single site.
  
  

How Categories Help Organize and Secure Content

Utilizing categories in Bold BI offers several advantages:

• Improved Navigation: By grouping related dashboards, categories enhance the user experience, making it easier to find relevant information.
• Simplified User Access Control: Categories allow for permissions to be assigned at the category level, streamlining the process of managing who can view or edit specific dashboards.
• Clutter Reduction: A well-structured category system helps avoid content clutter, ensuring that users can focus on the most relevant dashboards without distraction.

Best Practices for Category Management

To maximize the effectiveness of categories, consider the following best practices:

• Use Clear Category Names: Choose descriptive names for categories, such as “Marketing Reports” or “Sales Forecasts,” to ensure users can easily identify the content within.
• Assign Permissions at the Category Level: Implement access restrictions at the category level to safeguard sensitive information and ensure that only authorized users can access specific dashboards.
• Regularly Review Categories: Periodically assess the categories to remove outdated or irrelevant dashboards, keeping the content fresh and relevant.

How to Move Dashboards Between Categories

Moving dashboards between categories is a straightforward process:

• Move to Another Category: Within the same site, users can utilize the “Move to Category” option to relocate dashboards as needed.
• Copy Category Option: If duplication is required, the Copy Category option allows users to create a copy of dashboards in a new category.

By effectively utilizing categories in Bold BI, teams can enhance their dashboard organization, improve user access control, and maintain a structured environment for data visualization.

Differences Between Sites and Categories

Comparison on when to Use Sites vs. Categories?

Use Sites:

• You need strict data isolation between teams or clients.
• Different environments require separate dashboards (e.g., Development, Staging, Production).
• Compliance with data privacy regulations demands separate access controls.

Use Categories:

• You need to organize dashboards within a single site.
• Teams require shared access to dashboards but need restricted views.
• You want role-based access within the same site.

Guidelines for Setting Up Multi-Tenant Environments

When hosting multiple clients, teams, or departments, it is essential to create a secure and scalable structure. A well-structured multi-tenant environment not only enhances security but also improves accessibility and efficiency. Below are best practices and guidelines for setting up multi-tenant environments effectively.

Best Practices for Multi-Tenant Setup

1. Use Separate Sites for Different Clients: This approach ensures complete data isolation, allowing each client to have their own secure environment without the risk of data leakage.

2. Control Access at the Category Level: Within a site, utilize categories to limit the visibility of dashboards. This allows for tailored access based on the specific needs of different teams or departments.

3. Enable Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Assign permissions based on roles such as Viewer, Editor, and Admin. This ensures that users have appropriate access levels based on their responsibilities.

4. Ensure Secure Data Connections: Keep data sources isolated per site to prevent any potential leaks. This is crucial for maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive information.

Conclusion

Proper content organization in Bold BI ensures better security, accessibility, and efficiency. By leveraging Sites for data separation and Categories for content organization, businesses can streamline access control, improve collaboration, and manage dashboards effectively.

By following these best practices, organizations can:

• Keep data secure and well-organized.
• Reduce dashboard clutter and improve usability.
• Ensure smooth user access management for internal and external teams.

By understanding the methods for organizing content within Bold BI using Sites and Categories, Organizations can make informed decisions regarding the optimal approach based on the required level of data separation for their specific use case. Users have the flexibility to choose between Sites, Categories, or a combination of both to achieve efficient content organization and ensure effective data segregation within Bold BI.

Additional References

• User Guide Documentation: Multi-Tenant Architecture
• Knowledge Base Article: Role-Based Access Control in Bold BI
• User Guide Documentation: Manage Permission based on users
• User Guide Documentation: Manage Permission based on Groups
• Knowledge Base Article: Managing Connection Strings with Custom Attributes in Bold BI