It is no news that to thrive in our current world organizations need to use and act on data.
The adoption of a data driven mindset is a must, not an option. Just think on some of the successful companies that have been created over the past years, and you will see a common pattern: their data is managed as an asset to get insight and value.
Thriving in a context of saturated markets, high competition and, fast change has led to systematically increase year on year organizations budgets for data and AI initiatives. The goal? Make sure that they gain that competitive edge that you only get when you unlock the value of your data.
In a survey conducted by Vantage Partners in 2022 to companies part of Fortune 1000 , almost 92% had been steadily investing on data and AI initiatives for the past 3 years at least – we are taking of budgets over 50 millions dollars here!
The data struggle is real
What is the surprising result of those investments? Only 29% of those reported to have transformed into a data driven organization. And only 19% achieved to create a data culture.
While these companies keepincreasing their commitment in investing on technological initiatives, the results of the study show that there is no clear effect on how those investments are translated into generating data value and, transforming into a data driven organization.
The truth is that organizations face different situations that are difficult to overcome, making it very challenging to guarantee the positive outcome one expects to see when investing on data and AI initiatives. A minor part is related to technology legacy or business processes (10%), but the biggest one relies on culture (90%).
Existent cultural barriers remain the top reason in slowing down any data transformation journey. The need to upgrade skill sets or the resistance to change are the biggest challenges that organizations face.
Raise the game towards a real data journey
Data tells us that is about people first, technology second. Yet, organizations still are on the mindset that the more technology they throw into a problem the better value they will get, without thinking too much that the human factor needs to be considered – even more than the technological one.
For some of those organizations, the struggle was not related with technology perse, it was related with things such as:
• Managing data as a business asset
• Forge an effective data culture
• Leverage data to compete in markets
• Use of data to drive innovation
As you can imagine, the above is not strictly related on “Should I move my data to the cloud or stay on premises?” or “Should I create a data lake or upgrade my data warehouse?” . The previous points are related more on the synergies between data and employees, business, strategy, and technology that are needed to create value.
Identifying those synergies and work towards improving the relation between investment in data initiatives and value generated in return is key. Becoming a data driven company, thrive with data while innovating takes time, focus and big commitment.
However, if you are reading this post, most likely you are taking the first steps. To help you to take the next one, here are some recommendations in how to raise your game and move towards a real data transformation:
Ask yourself what will bring positive impact or value to the organization.
Focus on data initiatives in whereby there is a clearly business case identified. When approaching a data problem, think what is going to be the overall impact generated to the organization. Adopting that approach will not only generate quick wins and create momentum, but also to build credibility on the investments done on those data and AI initiatives.
Data is everywhere, but a proper pipeline will help you to turn it into an asset.
This implies take a step back, think and re imagine in the ways that data is treated and managed as an asset. That implies to have a full pipeline properly managed from capture and production through consumption and utilization – and consider all the points that are along the way between.
Focus and determination.
Keep in mind that transformation does not happen in a day. It requires time, patience, and fortitude. Investments in data governance, data literacy and programs that build awareness of the value of the impact and value of data will help. Investing in people skills and knowledge that they adapt to change but also, they embrace it!
You want to raise your game and take another step towards a real data journey? Are you struggling in unlocking value of your data? Contact us, we are there the help you along the way with an innovative and cost-effective approach. Our experience and values make us the perfect partner to have along that exciting journey.