4 Methods For Leveraging Data & Analytics Into Your Business Strategy

Today's market offers a huge variety. Finding fresh ways to set your service apart from the competition and provide a competitive advantage might be difficult. Drive innovation is the usual counsel. But how can further change be advantageous in a year marked by significant upheaval? How do you set off on your journey? And what support resources are available?

You can better comprehend new market behaviors, adapt your services as needed, and fine-tune them on the go with the use of modern data analytics solutions. Many organizations are able to remain ahead of change and distinguish out because to rapid innovation. Employees feel more empowered to develop and suggest new ideas when they have access to the appropriate data at the right time and in the right ways, according to our own research.

I have seen this culture shift in action, and other business leaders have recognized the benefits widely: according to a Harvard Business Review survey, 91% of respondents said that having strong data and analytics strategy is crucial. Surprisingly, though, just 20% of respondents said that their organizations were mature in this regard.

Data-driven transformation takes time. At Microsoft, it necessitated dismantling data silos and making numerous other adjustments to the way we operated. Our teams continue to find it beneficial to regularly examine and modify their path in light of shifting internal and external influences. But effective reforms begin with addressing the fundamentals, then expanding from there. I'd like to highlight four essential strategies for you to leverage data to accelerate your travel.

Obtain a single, comprehensive understanding of corporate performance to spur innovation

Data originates from a variety of sources, whether it is unstructured, semi-structured, or both. In order to unleash insights and fuel innovation, how can you leverage all those data streams, repositories, and silos the best?

by streamlining your business's data into a single perspective.

Let me use an illustration. The industrial technology company Smiths Group has five business divisions, each with unique data strategies, systems, and reporting. In total, the company used 800 apps. Employees discovered that they had to manually collect data from numerous sources in order to have a comprehensive view across the organization.

Smiths Group made the decision to hire data analytics services to combine several business units and data sources, such as SAP applications, financial systems, and enterprise resource planning tools, into a Data Lake. Now, workers can locate the data and insights they require. Leaders and business divisions are able to make faster, better, and more informed strategic decisions. The business can now pursue fresh prospects for operational, procedural, and service innovation.

Enhance and streamline decision-making

Our expertise as a transformation partner has demonstrated that businesses with strong data foundations also guarantee that their workforce can make wise decisions. This is made possible and expedited by a single data repository that is protected by account-based permissions.

In order to assist them make better decisions more quickly, City of Westminster personnel have access to a single view of citizens' data. Additionally, they may readily use information dashboards and rich visualizations to design more tailored experiences.

Organizations can react to internal and external changes more swiftly by using a single data source. For instance, Ricoh is using data analytics services to gain insights on how to optimize processes and increase customer value. They can simply track inventories across all phases of the manufacturing cycle by linking their plant into a single data view. They can therefore innovate their processes to boost productivity and competitiveness.

Using Innovation, Upend Business Models.

Innovation can be found wherever AI and machine learning are upending business structures. Secure AI systems, for instance, can now analyze photos, understand voice, and make predictions based on data. This creates a wide range of innovative options, from implementing and perfecting new omnichannel customer purchase touchpoints to testing, analyzing, and optimizing chatbots.

When I consider how quickly AI can absorb knowledge from increasingly huge amounts of data, I find myself still in amazement. We are able to gain insights, fully comprehend our businesses and clients, and quickly identify novel connections and patterns. However, when we promote a data and analytics culture, we actually give our staff members the tools they need to lead innovation in their daily work.

Employees may be given more time to focus on more creative or "human-only" projects if manual chores are replaced by AI and machine learning. For instance, personnel can concentrate on building connections with customers while chatbots for customer support tackle frequently requested queries.

Encourage Innovation Among All Workers

According to our research, businesses that benefit the most from technology have also made investments in their employees' training. Therefore, the most successful leaders are those who include a culture of continual learning into their data journey.

This is due, in part, to the fact that tech proficiency enhances each employee's contribution. For instance, having data analytics solutions helps us assess how well we're accomplishing our objectives. They enable people to find novel ideas, implement them, and boost productivity. Everyone knows how data and analytics may improve their performance, creativity, and ability to create in an inclusive learning culture.

Rapid Innovation

It is evident that transforming your company into a data-driven organization can help you generate new revenue streams, fortify client connections, and gain a competitive edge. I've discovered that a solid platform for growth may be established with a clear, coordinated data strategy that is in line with defined business aims. Once employees have the knowledge they need, leaders can equip them with the abilities to analyze their findings and come up with innovative, fresh ideas.