Improving your business through data – An introduction
In the second blog of our ’Making Better Decision‘ series, we spoke about “getting to the heart of the problem”. We outlined that in order for an organisation to effectively use data to make better decisions, they must first have a comprehensive understanding of their business objectives as a whole. In this Insights series, we take that idea one step further and consider critical business objectives and discuss the impact data can have on improving your business.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll discuss how effectively utilizing data can help organisations to improve their efficiency and develop a more robust understanding of their business and the environment around them. When used intelligently, data has the ability to disrupt and provide insight into opportunities that might have been otherwise missed.
There are countless ways by which data can help improve a business. From better understanding customer behaviour to identifying issues in the supply chain, data can be used to provide organisations with a holistic view of the internal and external environment that allows meaningful action to occur. As famed management consultant, Peter Druker put it, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”.
At Analytics Engines, we’ve provided organisations with data solutions that can identify opportunities that can help improve efficiency. Consider for example our COBALT data solution that helped Belfast City Council identify £500K in additional revenue from unpaid non-domestic rates.
Data is the differentiator
When it was introduced in May 2018, GDPR placed data firmly in the limelight. The legislation focused a great deal on the personal data of individuals, but it is important to remember that what constitutes actionable data, capable of driving meaningful change within an organisation is so much more than names, email addresses and phone numbers. Customer analytics, logistics data and financial records, for example, can each be analysed to provide organisations with insight capable of delivering change, identifying opportunities and improving efficiency.
Take a step back and consider what data your organisation has access to and how that data might enable change within your organisation.
Simplify complexity
This in effect is the principle underpinning digital transformation projects. In an earlier blog, from our ’Making Better Decisions‘ series, we spoke about the unique perspective that data visualisation can provide. In this series, we’ll go one step further and discuss real-world examples that we have delivered for our clients, that have reduced complexity and enabled meaningful change.
One such example of a digital transformation project is our PRECISION for Pharmacy software, that provides unprecedented visibility of patients’ needs and staff workload to clinical pharmacy staff. The result of this process saw teams migrate from a paper-based system, and draw everything together into a responsive dashboard application, allowing staff to monitor and action workflows in real-time.
Have a look at our “Preparing your Data (Part II)” to learn more about the unique perspective that data visualisations can offer business managers.
Measured success
In order to successfully utilise data to drive change and improve efficiency, you must monitor and measure effectively. Data strengthens the foundations upon which your decisions are made and allows you to measure with certainty the value of an action (Return on Investment) and how successful it has been.
Bottomline
Over the next few weeks, we’ll discuss the various ways data can be used to improve your business. From identifying inefficiencies in the supply chain to understanding how customers move within a specific building or given environment, we’ll look at how we’ve helped our clients grow their revenue and improve their business through intuitive, meaningful data solutions.
