Recently, we published a blog outlining why companies are failing to turn their data into value (you can read it here). But don’t let this scare you off - there are steps you can take to avoid falling into the data trap. For starters, whether you’d like to admit it or not, data runs our lives. The most successful companies heavily rely on data to drive decision-making and innovation. There’s no question that you should follow suit and, in this post, we’ll outline how.
Before diving into the details, it’s important to understand what we mean by “data-driven culture”. Simply put, it’s a culture where data is used to make decisions. Data is seen (and used) as a strategic asset that is accessible to all stakeholders within the business. The process of identifying, collecting, cleaning, and gleaning insights from data is mature and implemented across businesses that have successfully implemented a data culture. Here’s how they do it:
#1 Make “data-driven” more than a buzzword (aka walk the talk)
Those who have experienced corporate culture are very familiar with corporate jargon. Without a solid plan and a concerted effort to implement the plan, you run the risk of data-driven becoming another buzzword.
Understanding that it’s not easy to introduce data science into your business is crucial. It’s a complex and ambitious process especially if you’re doing it on your own. However, partnering with SaaS companies (like DotModus) that have the experience and resources will ensure that no matter where you are along your journey, every move you make will drive digital transformation (not hinder it).
#2 Put data in everyone’s hands
As I mentioned above, data should be viewed as a strategic asset. This means that data is widely accessible across the business and is the single source of truth. Data is only valuable when it is accurate and free of quality issues. Because you will be using it to inform decisions, it needs to be trusted and available in an easy-to-understand way.
Just like any business process, bottlenecks are your enemy. By democratising data, you’ll rely on IT professionals less letting them focus on higher priority tasks. Some popular Google Cloud products that prevent bottlenecks are CloudSQL (to migrate your data), Trifacta (to prepare your data), BigQuery (to quickly explore and analyse your data) as well as Looker (to visualise your data).
#3 Actively use data to make decisions
While this is an obvious point, it needs to be made. Gaining insights from your data doesn’t stop there. To get the most out of it, you need to actually use it. Executives know that data is valuable and if it’s reliable, they should be willing to use it during the decision-making process.
#4 Embrace and implement agility
A lot of businesses like to say they’re agile, but let’s face it, sometimes they’re not. When we talk about agility in this context, we’re referring not only to organisational attitudes but also to technology. Having the ability to scale (up or down) or even adopt new data technologies and practices easily will have a noticeable (positive) impact on your data culture.
Final Thoughts
Extracting value from your data is no easy task. However, when an organisation fully and successfully embraces a data-driven culture, data becomes a valuable asset that enhances the decision-making process. To find out how DotModus can support your business on your journey contact us here and we’ll craft a bespoke plan based on your industry, size, and requirements.
