In the Business Intelligence (BI) world, as BI experts, we tend to understand and think about the value of information and analytics slightly differently to the rest of an organisation – given we have a passion for data and the value it holds. We also understand information and analytics to be a competitive driver – the revenue specialist for a business and a game changer of organisational culture.
While some organisations have quickly caught-on to ‘our view’, there are still many who think that the information generated by the business is overwhelming or holds no real value and therefore has no benefits to the overall vision or objectives of the company.
I understand these sentiments – as I have witnessed, first-hand, the nature of our industry discovering trends, which can be confusing to the market and decision makers – especially if we consider the hype that is often built around technological trends. However, information and analytics, in my opinion, is not a business hindrance or waste of time. In this blog post, I will aim to address why.
Of course, information and analytics is not the only answer to all the business problems an organisation may have. Rather my aim is to educate around a few key areas related to information and analytics, as well as the benefits that it can demonstrate and how it can be used correctly.
Think about the opportunities
I feel that it is fair to say that generally an organisation that does not ‘keep up’ with the times and trends, will likely get overtaken by its competitors. The same analogy applies to information and analytics. If a business does not dig into their generated data, it will not see the opportunity to either improve their service offering, product line or business strategy – simply because the facts are being ignored and the data then becomes redundant.
My advice is to be proactive and take the decision to tap into the available data. Get an analytics team in your organisation. Make sure that they are more than just experts or specialists at what they do, but are evangelists too. When a business does this, it must do so by assessing the possible opportunities the data may present, at all times. Being more open to opportunities may assist the business in finding these more easily.
Think about Return on Investment
Return on Investment is the life blood of any business. If the numbers are great – then everyone feels good and feel they have effectively done their part in the organisation. However, this can only occur when the CIO/CDO has solid facts about the business data generated. This is where the data analytics team can offer support, as the data can demonstrate which opportunities can (and should) be leveraged.
It does not matter if the organisation wants to improve customer experience, sell more products or understand the employees better – information and analytics can demonstrate factual areas of improvement and opportunity across the business. Remember, end-users and clients are always looking for a ‘better experience’ with the product or ways to save time or money. Bringing in the data analytics team and looking at the data can positively aid this process, provided it is done with the right focus.
Information and analytics can influence a business, but only if the organisation is clear about the goal or what they want to achieve. Certainly, it’s not the answer to all problems within a business – however, it is a start, as it will help unlock the possibilities of what the business can achieve. It is the kind of empowerment that can demonstrate what an organisation can become tomorrow, in two years and in the future.
So, minimise your business risk and look at information and analytics to create a map heading in the right direction.
