The Top Categories report, available in all ActivTrak plans, shows the top categories of applications and websites teams and individuals use to understand role alignment and optimize training and technology investments.
To access the Top Categories report, navigate to Live Reports > Top Categories.
Tip: Add the Top Categories report to your Favorites for quick access.
The Top Categories Report
Contents
- When to use the Top Categories report
- Navigating the Top Categories report
- Practical applications
- Learn more
When to use the Top Categories report
The Top Categories report shows how users and teams spend time across different technology categories, helping you:
- Evaluate if time spent aligns with users' roles and job functions
- Ensure compliance with company technology policies
Note: Anything set to the Ignore category inside Settings > Classifications will be excluded from these reports. You can read more about this feature here.
Navigating the Top Categories report
Filter settings
Like other Live Reports in ActivTrak, the Top Categories report can be filtered by user, group, and time period using the drop-down filter menu options at the top of the report. Click the Refresh button after making your selections to ensure they are applied.
Using the Top Categories report
The report is displayed in two sections:
The left panel shows the category name, the time spent on applications and websites within that category, and the percentage of overall category usage, sorted from highest to lowest duration.
You can directly change an application’s category classification from this report by clicking the Update Category Classifications button above the right panel. Group Classifications allow you to tailor classifications based on each team's needs.
Top Categories: Left Panel
When you select a category on the left, the right panel shows detailed information broken down into two tabs:
- Activities: View the top applications and websites in this category along with duration.
- Users: See the top users for the applications and websites in this category and the duration.
In Summary View, you will see the total time spent for each category. Switch to Detailed View for a breakdown by Active and Passive time in both report panels.
Top Categories: Right Panel
Hover over a specific Title, and new options will appear from a hidden menu, including:
- View Activity: Navigate to the Activity Log, filtered for that particular Activity
- Open Link: Open the URL for that specific Activity in a new tab
- Copy Link: Copy the URL for that specific Activity to your device’s clipboard
Titles: Hidden Menu
Customizing the report
Category Classification
Applications and websites in the report will show their category classification based on your organization's settings. To adjust how applications and websites are classified:
- Navigate to Settings > Classifications
- Find the website or application you wish to reclassify (Tip: utilize the search bar in the top right corner)
- Change its Category from the dropdown menu
For more information about setting up Classifications, we have these valuable resources:
- Help Center Article: Guide to Activity Classification
- Webcast: Classification 101
Practical applications
Role alignment analysis
Identify whether users' digital activities match their job roles:
- Check if sales team members are primarily using sales tools
- Ensure marketing teams are spending appropriate time using creative and social media tools
- Verify that engineering teams are focused on development and collaboration tools
Optimizing technology investments
The Top Categories report provides an introductory view into website and application usage that can help you identify:
- Which category of websites and applications are being used most frequently
- How usage varies across teams and departments
- Potential opportunities for consolidating similar tools
- Categories where usage is lower than expected, indicating potential adoption issues
This report is a helpful starting point for organizations making strategic decisions about software investments. However, for more comprehensive license optimization and technology ROI analysis, ActivTrak offers specialized solutions:
- Technology Usage Dashboard (available in select plans) - Provides deeper insights into website and application usage patterns, adoption rates, and unused licenses with detailed visualization of technology utilization across teams.
- Technology License Optimization Report (Power BI template) - Delivers advanced analytics to maximize software investments through intelligent license management, helping organizations reduce technology costs and make data-driven decisions about software renewals.
Pro Tip: The Technology Usage Dashboard shows both application and website usage in one view, which is particularly valuable for tools that can be accessed via either method (like Zoom, ChatGPT, or Microsoft Teams) to get a complete picture of actual usage.