Data driven business - data for the future

The world is increasingly reliant on the customer experience; advances in technology have changed the context in which services are delivered and consumed. Data has become a necessity for organisations that wish to remain competitive. In some cases, data-driven businesses can have a 5–6% higher output and productivity than similar organisations that are not using data-driven processes (McAfee, et al., 2012). The possibilities that data technology can be unlocked are enormous and have been adapted in a multitude of ways. Particularly, businesses are utilising data technology to aide Business Intelligence to accelerate their growth. 

The process of generating, measuring and analysing data has become simplified over the years, and now, we can be confident in its accuracy. The toughest task is collecting and storing of the data, once this has been done, it is then organised and analysed. This gives vital insight into the business’ target market, it’s consumers as well as the business’ performance as a whole. Regardless of size, this information is always relevant to a business as it will affect its ability to make effective, fact-based decisions in a timely manner.

Small businesses face many challenges, and it is vital for them to find ways to reduce operational risks, reduce costs and simultaneously deliver better results, thereby increasing revenue. With the added layer of intelligence, businesses can reduce wastage and focus on the business operations that yield the highest returns.  

Responsiveness is a key factor in becoming a business leader. The ability to quickly respond to changes in demand can make or break modern businesses. Small businesses now have access to powerful software solutions that have long been exclusively available to massive corporates. These software solutions enable businesses to collect, report and analyse data in near real-time. This ultimately gives the business a 360-degree view of operations, enabling them to track the profitability of each individual business activity.

Business Intelligence should always be integrated and user-friendly. Most popular Business Intelligence tools make use of an easy to use client interfaces with status dashboards. The dashboards give the user an easy and quick overview of multiple metrics, which helps business owners save both time and mental energy (two contenders for the arguably the most valuable asset one can have.) The analytics are presented in a user-friendly way, which means the user understands the information quickly. 

A well-designed business intelligence dashboard gives businesses the opportunity to create a well-informed, data-driven approach to work. This tool also allows business executives to keep their decisions streamlined with their KPIs. This ultimately means better decision-making for the business overall. 

Before making decisions about which business intelligence software would be best suited for the organization, business owners need to make sure that they have a robust data storage system that 1. has the capacity to store all the data collected and 2. Will allow for rapid access to this database. 

Factors such as consideration of the users of the solutions, data analytics capability, and the frequency of data processing should all be considered.

One of the most significant phenomena regarding technological innovations’ impact on business is the ever-growing volume and velocity of data. Having a reliable storage solution that allows for dynamic scaling and also empowers each business unit with insights that can be used to improve its operations is vital. A solid, future-proof storage solution will allow an organisation to turn normal trading data into powerful business intelligence that can be used to drive its growth.