Data is
currently the most valuable substance in the world – more lucrative than
oil, gold, or anything else you can think of. That’s because knowledge is
power, and data gives us access to informative insights that we can’t get
anywhere else. However, what you may not know is that there are more types of
business floating around in your network than you realise.
You’ve got
the data that you gather in your sales and CRM systems when your customers make
a purchase, or you interact with a client. You’ve also got information that you
collect each day about the way that your teams use software and tools to get
work done. There’s even data in your business that could help you understand
how people feel about your brand. Today’s natural language processing and
sentiment analysis tools can dive into the nuances in the human voice via VoIP
calls to give you insights into the quality of your interactions
So, how do
you make the most of the data in your workplace?
The importance of better
data management
Big Data
has been a buzzword in the technology industry for several years now. However,
there are still business leaders out there who assume that data analytics and
insights are reserved for a specific size or type of company. The truth is that
even smaller businesses have data available to them that they could be
analysing to make better business decisions; all they really need is the right
business intelligence and data management platforms.
As
organisations of every size continue to recognise the growing power of data,
it’s becoming increasingly easy for companies to access business data in all of
its forms. What’s more, if you can embrace better data management solutions,
then you’re more likely to see significant improvements in your company’s
growth. According to a report from McKinsey, the organisations that are the
most data-driven are also the ones that make better decisions. Groups that were
data-driven in the report were 23 times more likely to acquire new customers
and 19 times more likely to be profitable.
Big brands
like McDonalds and Starbucks rely on management systems that consolidate
multiple types of business data across various systems and applications at
scale. They use these solutions to break down the barriers between silos in
their business and innovate in their markets with higher levels of information
and insights.
How to get started with
your open data process
So how do
you start creating an open data process, where everyone in your team can access
the information that they need to make more informed decisions? The good news
is that you don’t have to be a brand giant like McDonalds or Starbucks to get
started. However, you do need to take a step towards becoming a more
data-driven venture. This means:
- Developing a Data Strategy: The
first step in making the most of data management is to define a
forward-thinking about approach to how you’re going to gather and manage
information. Remember, getting more access to your business data shouldn’t be
your end goal. Instead, you should be looking at what you want to accomplish
with the information that you collect, and where you’ll be able to obtain the
highest quality of data to make the right decisions. For instance, if you want
to improve customer service, the types of business data you need might come
from contact centres, marketing initiatives, and sales strategies.
- Have a single source of truth: Many
of the modern data-driven organisations that are thriving today are embracing
the use of unfamiliar and darker data sources. This means tapping into
multi-structured and unstructured data sources that most companies aren’t used
to dealing with. Organisations that are exploring the darkest depths of their
data also need a way to ingest, cleanse, and make the most of that information
so that it can be governed and monitored by IT. Make sure that you have a way
to qualify and organise vast volumes of information so that your data can make
a real difference.
- Give everyone access to data:
Finally, make sure that your business data is available to everyone who needs
it. CIOs need to offer an easy-to-use and self-service solution to accessing
critical information that team members can use to make decisions about how they
interact with customers and each other daily.
The world, as we know it is awash with various types of business data. Unfortunately, for the time being, there are still only a few people that are really harnessing the information available to them to gain a competitive edge. Many people are so worried about how to store data and stay GDPR compliant that they forget that there are benefits to unlocking insights if they have the right data management strategy.