At this point, data volumes aren’t just increasing – they’re practically exploding. According to one recent study, the volume of data created by US-based businesses every year is enough to fill the Library of Congress roughly 10,000 times. Data on its own, however, is practically meaningless. Unless you can uncover the invaluable story hidden underneath all those 1s and 0s, it’s not going to rise up as the powerful ally you thought (and hoped) it would be. But in an era where an estimated 150 trillion gigabytes of data will need analysis by as soon as 2025, how does one even know where to begin?
Thankfully, the answer to that question is relatively straightforward – even if the technology you’ll use to get there is not. If you truly want to unlock the full potential of your business’ data, there are a few key things you’ll need to keep in mind.
Empower Your Data, Empower Your Business
By far, the most important thing you can do to unlock the full potential of your business’s data involves considering that data within the unique requirements of your organization in the first place.
Again – data is malleable to the point where it can essentially do whatever you need it to do, whenever you need it to do it, no exceptions. Because of that, you can’t begin with the data – you need to begin by evaluating your data needs against the backdrop of your unique business requirements and specific organizational goals.
What projects in your company are best suited for using data analytics to maximize success (not to mention profits)? How must data be used within those contexts? These are questions that will be specific not only to your business, but to whatever goals you happen to have in the moment. But you must ask them, or it’s a bit like setting out on a road trip and leaving your GPS back at home.
Likewise, you need to understand just how important data quality truly is. If you feed analytics solutions poor quality data, you’re only going to get poor quality insight in return. Never forget that according to another recent study, businesses can lose as much as 20% of their revenue due specifically to poor data quality.
Finally, you need to understand that analyzing your data isn’t something you “do once and forget about” – it’s something you need to be proactive about, and is something that you will analyze on a regular basis moving forward. Your business is creating massive volumes of new data every day. Not only do you need to have ongoing visibility into what, specifically, is being done with that data, but you also need to be checking its health on a regular basis to make sure that you’re aware of everything you need to make the most informed decisions possible in the moment. Analyzing your data is not a sprint, it’s a marathon – and you need to treat it like one or you will find yourself left behind.
In the end, the most important thing to understand about all of this is that simply having access to business data is not how you’re going to create the type of competitive advantage that will serve your organization well for the next decade and beyond. Being able to extract valuable insight from that data should always be your top priority. But you’ll never be able to get to that point if you don’t understand your data within the context of your business requirements, if you don’t pay close attention to the quality of your data, and if you don’t analyze that data continuously moving forward.
Provided that you’ve laid the groundwork with these three core ideas, there’s practically no limit to what you’ll be able to accomplish.
Contact us today to discuss unlocking the full potential of your business’s data!
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