StatPlanet Cloud integrates both charts and maps within a single interactive dashboard. Switch visualization with the click of a button to enable different kinds of analysis, including:

• Spatial analysis through maps
• Relative comparisons through bar and column charts
• Time trend analysis though time series graphs, as well as bar, column, bubble charts & maps which can be animated over time
• Analysis of relationships between up to three indicators through scatter plots or bubble charts
• Analysis of multiple dimensions simultaneously via maps in combination with charts and graphs, as well as combination charts (coming soon in the next release of StatPlanet Cloud)

Other key features include:

• Layout customization, by repositioning, resizing, adding and removing any of the dashboard panels
• Tell stories with your data by integrating text or web-pages, linking them to specific indicators, topics, or time periods
• Facilitate the exploration of your data by grouping indicators into categories and sub-categories
• Divide your map into zoomable map regions for enhanced spatial analysis
• Choose from multiple export formats, including PNG, PDF and SVG for high quality, publication-ready images

For a more detailed feature overview, see the StatSilk product comparison.

Mapping your data

The Excel-based StatPlanet Data Manager automatically imports your data and links it to your map file. We can provide you with any of 450+ national and regional maps optimized for the web, or support you in obtaining and using your own custom maps (see also: obtaining free map files).

Understanding your data

StatPlanet Cloud automatically establishes a model of three key dimensions of your data: the geographic dimension, the variable (or indicator) dimension, and if available, the time dimension. Based on this model the interactive maps and visualizations are automatically generated using best-practice data visualization principles.

Publishing and sharing your visualizations

There are three components: the application files, the map file, and the data files. ​StatPlanet Cloud is a SaaS application, so the application itself does not need to be hosted on your web server. However, maps and data files are hosted on your own web server - rest assured that there is no transfer of your maps, data or other information to the cloud.

At the user-end, the three components come together in the web-browser, integrating the map and data files within the StatPlanet Cloud application. The interactive visualizations can be viewed on any web-enabled device (PC, Mac, Linux, tablet or smartphone).

StatPlanet Cloud requires an annual or bi-annual subscription. See the subscription plans for more details, and the discount criteria for non-profit and education organization.

The following features are expected to be included in upcoming releases, by the end of 2016:

 

• Several new graph types, including combined line and bar charts.
• Customizable help splash screen.
• Button to generate and share a link to the currently selected visualization.
• Customizable map popups.
• Support for maps which display categorical information.
• Support for custom JSON queries to automatically retrieve and visualize data from your own database, or from external sources such as through the World Bank's open data API.
• Improved loading times by splitting the data into smaller data files, and loading them on an on-demand basis.
• Faster data importing and greater flexibility of import data formats.

The new version is designed to be backward compatible with StatPlanet, and can therefore use the same data files. However, shapefile maps would need to be converted into GeoJSON. This can be easily done as described in our tutorial. We provide a free map conversion service (GeoJSON to Shapefile or vice versa) to StatPlanet Cloud subscribers.

For further information, please contact us.