Using Data Management and Analytics To Create Business Insight

Data management and analytics is a subject that has risen to the top of the CIO agenda in recent years. Companies across all industries are finding that how they store and use their data is no longer a question of infrastructure — it can define how well they can offer a service to their customers.

Think of the various aspects within data management that now need to be considered:

• Data lakes and data warehouses: how are you physically storing data and if you need to apply real-time processing and analysis, then is the data available quickly enough for your requirements?
• Data management in the cloud: what is the day-to-day process of managing your cloud infrastructure, and how can it add value and flexibility?
• Visual flow solutions: which low-code solutions can allow you to create visual flows for data with the flexibility you need for constant change?
• Smart clouds: you are unlikely to have a single cloud solution. How can in-house systems be managed alongside multiple clouds?

This can be combined and contrasted with the various options available for the manager that is planning how to analyze the data:

• Business Intelligence: turning information — especially financial information — into valuable insights and assets. Ensuring all the data you have available contributes to the business.
• Data Mining: finding hidden patterns in the data and creating insight that can inform management decisions.
• Migration: planning how to migrate from existing analysis systems or plans to use a more modern and innovative environment.
• IoT in real-time: keeping track of thousands, or millions, of sensors and not only representing those items visually, but allowing decisions to be made based on the live feedback.

It is clear that an immediate list of objectives and priorities can be created for a business that wants to focus on improved data management and analytics. There is the process of managing the data and ensuring it is available to be used quickly enough, as well as the analytics that generate insight.

The importance of this subject applies to businesses across all industries — all companies need to generate some form of insight into what they could be doing better or more efficiently.

A smarter use of data can reveal patterns and trends over time, allowing businesses to understand how certain variables change and evolve. This insight can help in forecasting future trends and making informed decisions.

Data can also be used to explore how customers interact with your business. Analyzing customer data can provide insights into customer preferences, purchasing behavior, and demographics. This information can be used to tailor marketing strategies, improve customer experience, and develop targeted products or services.

It should also be possible to use historic customer data combined with other information — such as the date, the weather, or special events — to make predictions. Businesses can build predictive models to forecast future outcomes. This can be applied to various areas such as sales forecasting, demand planning, risk management, and resource optimization.

A more effective management and analysis of data can have many other uses, such as customer segmentation or measuring the business performance. Market risks and new opportunities can be highlighted and can feed into the process of making important decisions about new services and products.

A more effective approach to management and analysis of data can lead to better business insights. These insights derived from data analysis empower businesses to make informed decisions, drive innovation, enhance competitiveness, and ultimately achieve their strategic objectives.

Data Management, Analytics, and AI is an important line of services provided by IBA Group. For case studies and examples of solutions, please click here.