How to become a Data-Driven Company?
Data-driven companies use their data to unlock new opportunities and possibilities for their business. We show you how you can develop your company into a Data-Driven Company.
Big Data is multifaceted and can mean big benefits for businesses. Better information leads to better decisions and optimal results. The value companies derive from Big Data depends on their ability to build a solid digital foundation and ultimately become data-driven organizations.
Glen Hopper, CFO of Sandline Global and author of Deep Finance, has spent the last two decades helping startups prepare for funding or acquisition. From this experience, he has identified six steps to help companies with their digital transformation.
6 steps to a Data-Driven Company
Step 1️⃣
Implement systems for data collection and processing. Hire appropriately qualified employees or train your existing talent. (Investment in systems and human resources)
Step 2️⃣
Make sure you collect and summarize all available data from your company and about your company. Give sufficient priority to the employees who are to build this knowledge base.
Step 3️⃣
Take stock of your descriptive statistics. Where do the statistical categories correlate? What trends do you see and how can you share them with the entire workforce? Clarify what you already know.
Step 4️⃣
What does your knowledge gained in step 3 mean? Move on to prescriptive analysis and use your collected data to make predictions and recommendations for the future. Only in this step does information become knowledge.
Step 5️⃣
Different team members may see the same data in different ways. A transparent approach prevents unhealthy competition and promotes collaboration and accountability. By “crowdsourcing” decision-making power, your organization can benefit from better decisions overall.
Step 6️⃣
Effektive Analysen sind nur dann möglich, wenn jeder im Unternehmen den datengesteuerten Ansatz akzeptiert hat. Every team member must therefore be able to trust that the data is correct and provides a complete picture of the company’s situation. For this, verification mechanisms are essential to continuously ensure that the information collected is “real”.
Conclusion
So, on the way to becoming a Data-Driven Company, it is crucial to build processes and teams that collect relevant data. They must further make this data available to all stakeholders and enable the relevant colleagues to draw conclusions from it, which in the best case scenario will lead to productive and fruitful business decisions.
Source: Glen Hopper via Forbes
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