“Creating reusable data products and patterns for piecing together data technologies enables companies to derive value from data today and tomorrow.”
In the article “How to Unlock the Full Value of Data: Manage it Like a Product,” McKinsey & Company’s QuantumBlack division discusses the importance of treating data as a strategic asset and managing it in a way that maximizes its value.
According to the article, many companies fail to fully realize the potential value of their data because they do not have a systematic approach to managing it. To unlock the full value of data, the authors recommend treating it like a product and applying the same principles of product management to its development and deployment.
This includes establishing a clear vision for the data product, setting measurable goals, and regularly tracking and analysing its performance. It also involves creating a data culture within the organization, in which data is seen as a valuable resource and is used to inform decision-making at all levels.
The article goes on to provide practical steps for implementing a data product management approach, such as building a data governance framework, investing in the right tools and technologies, and establishing strong partnerships with external data providers.
The article offers valuable insights for any company looking to maximize the value of its data and drive business success. I highly recommend giving it a read.
“Data is increasingly the differentiator between winners and also-rans in business. Today, information can be captured from many different sources, and technology to extract insights is becoming increasingly accessible.” – Bernard Marr
Here’s a look at the top 5 data science and analytics trends, according to a recent article by Bernard Marr:
Data Democratisation – Data driven organisations will continue to enable entire workforces with analytics, so they can undertake their role more effectively and efficiently.
Artificial Intelligence – Will play a significant role in automating mundane tasks such as data collection and cleansing and provide more accurate predictive models. By automating many manual tasks, AI will be an important enabler for the democratisation of analytics across the organisation.
Cloud and Data-as-a-Service – Businesses will leverage data collected and curated by 3rd parties as subscription SaaS offerings rather than build their own expensive proprietary systems. These data services will be used largely to augment an organisation’s internal data assets.
Real-Time Data – While perhaps not a broad requirement for most organisations, real-time data is used in financial services to monitor transactions to prevent fraud and by online businesses to analyse website click stream data to optimise real-time promotions to customers.
Data Governance and Regulation – Significant data breeches in 2022 across Australia have highlighted the need for businesses to review their processes relating to customer data, including auditing personal information stored, where and how it is stored and processes relating to securing it.
“Moving to a data-driven business model – where decisions are made based on what we know to be true rather than “gut feeling” – is core to the wave of digital transformation sweeping through every industry in 2023 and beyond. It helps us to react with certainty in the face of uncertainty – especially when wars and pandemics upset the established order of things.
But the world of data and analytics never stands still. New technologies are constantly emerging that offer faster and more accurate access to insights. And new trends emerge, bringing us new thinking on the best ways to put it to work across business and society at large. So, here’s my rundown of what I believe are the most important trends that will affect the way we use data and analytics to drive business growth in 2023.“
In today’s market, companies need to think differently about their overall approach to company health — the “growth-at-all-costs” model adopted by many companies over the past few years is no longer creating the same results as the way the market determines value shifts, Chris Cabrera, founder and CEO of intelligent revenue service Xactly, said. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company uses technologies such as predictive analytics to help companies create and implement revenue plans or improve sales performance.
“I think everybody that was in that growth at all costs model is just facing the reality that the market doesn’t value those companies the way they used to,” Cabrera said.
Businesses and their financial leaders facing economic headwinds must reconsider the way they think about their firms’ growth strategies in the current market. Companies such as software-as-a-service (SaaS) entities may be used to thinking about growth by using what is known as the “rule of 40,” for example, a growth metric popularized in 2015 which states that when adding a software company’s growth rate and profit margin, the combined total should exceed 40%, according to a 2018 report by Bain & Company….
Using data to drive education, opportunities
Making the switch to a more balanced model is a good correction, he said — the belief is that hopefully, “smart leaders will not view this as a pendulum swing,” because building “a balanced rule of 40 business, having a business that has a balance of growth and profitability is a much healthier business in the long run,” he said.
“I’m hopeful that companies will make the shift for quality and stay there and not try to chase the market and…just focus on building quality businesses,” Cabrera said.
For CFOs and other executive leaders, the key to making the shift to a more balanced growth and profitability model is focusing on building “quality revenue,” he said — meaning they need access to key information.
