Essential Ways To Use Data Strategically | Fusion - WeRIndia

Today’s technology allows us to gather incredible amounts of data, the reality is much of the data is currently collected before anyone answers: “What do we want to do with this data?” The result: Your organization has a lot of data that isn’t very useful for business.

Before rushing to start collecting data, every business should begin by developing a data strategy. If you already have a ton of data, but no data strategy, it’s time to pause and develop one.

Your team needs to determine what you want to achieve and then collect the data that will help you answer business questions, improve operations, and create new streams of revenue.

There are numerous ways data can influence your business success, but for the most part businesses use data in these three ways:

– Inform and improve decision-making

– Revamp and refine operations

– Create new streams of revenue

Most companies start by using data to improve decision-making, because it’s quite challenging and resource intense to simultaneously juggle all three categories at the same time.

1) Inform and improve decision-making with data

Making better business decisions is the first way all organizations should leverage their data intelligence. Data can help your team make better decisions in all areas of your business from warehousing to distribution, marketing to customer service, and more. Identify and prioritize your unanswered business questions and then determine what data you can analyze to get an answer for that unsolved business problem.

Certainly, one of the most prolific ways that companies gain insights from data is to get a better understanding of their customers—data-driven insights rather than assumptions—about who they are, their preferences, behaviors, and more.

2) Revamp and refine operations

There’s abundant opportunity for organizations to use data to optimize operations and everyday business processes. Virtually any business process that generates data whether that’s through customer ordering systems or machines on a production line can be refined based on the insight the data provides.

A top priority for many companies is to use data to gain operational efficiencies.

For example, service-based businesses with fleets of vehicles equipped with GPS devices can all be connected to give extraordinary insight via real-time monitoring. But it’s not just service delivery that can be monitored and enhanced; companies optimize their warehouse processes, inventory control, supply chains, IT resources, and even human resources recruitment and management from the data they collect.

3) Create new streams of revenue with the data

The more robust and compelling your data is, the more attractive it becomes as a business asset. In fact, companies are now being bought and sold based on the data they have. In 2015, IBM acquired The Weather Company because IBM wanted access to The Weather Company’s vast weather-related data resources. IBM can now sell that data to other companies who have an interest in understanding weather patterns.

Even if your company is not looking to be acquired, your data is still valuable. Is there a secondary market for the data you generate or gather? Companies such as Fitbit are now data merchants.

They are beginning to capitalize on their data being valuable to other companies. Fitbit aggregates data about fitness habits and health stats to share—and sell—to strategic partners.

Regardless of where your company is in terms of data collection, be sure that you have a proper data strategy in place.

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