Importance of Data Analytics for CEO's - Eesha & Rithika Aytha, Novi, MI
Data has become a critical resource for organizations to improve their bottom line and figure out what opportunities to focus on next. From small retail stores to large corporations, data is shaping the way we do business, from understanding our customers to streamlining our internal processes. However, many still struggle with extracting valuable insight from data and acting on it.
Organizing raw data is a critical part of this process. Once organized, the task of interpreting and analyzing that data to gain insight paves the way to a gold mine for businesses. There are powerful tools and techniques that put these insights at the fingertips of businesses.
When good data is infused with common sense and creativity, it can generate engaging experiences and useful insights that can differentiate one’s company in strategic ways. You will be changing how dollars are spent for years to come, in exchange for precise information that can, indeed, impact your business in the most significant ways ever.
In fact, Forrester reported that although 74% of enterprises say they strive to be data driven, only 29% say their organizations are good at turning data insights into actionable business outcomes. The report also said, “Businesses are now keenly aware of the gap between what they can do with big data and what is possible.” This means that executives are noticing the disconnect between data and business value, making them question using it in the first place.
Many times, CEOs want a simple, “top-line view” or a “snapshot” of the state of business. This is understandable since they are typically reviewing the performance of the organization. They need to have interactive tools allowing CEOs to quickly engage with the data, ask questions and determine the best action to take next.
Business Intelligence (BI) and Data Analytics are widely seen as crucial contributors to effective decision making in organizations. Self-service BI tools that put analytics capabilities in the hands of business managers and workers are flourishing.
The most important value proposition that organizations want to achieve through
Business Intelligence and Data Analytics enabled strategies are as follows:
Reduction in operating expenses
Increased profitability
Improve growth, competitiveness and market position
Customer acquisition, loyalty and retention
Product development and differentiation
Data Analytics & Business Intelligence are vital in our digitally-driven world as it essentially gives the C-level executives an additional sense: a commercial vision that can help you see and process far more than the information that presents itself on the surface. Visualizations are powerful tools to display complicated data sets in a format that’s easily digested. They can help CEOs understand key metrics and easily spot trends.
To put the power of Data analytics & Business Intelligence into perspective, here are four key insights you should know:
Businesses using analytics are five times more likely to make better, quicker decisions, according to an article published on BetterBuys.
By 2025, the global BI and analytics market is expected to soar to a worth of $147.19 billion, growing at a CAGR of 26.98% from 2016.
Businesses will create and manage 60% of the world’s data by 2025. 85% of business leaders believe that big data will change the way they do business, significantly, especially in the personalization potential of intelligence.
To explore this topic more deeply, Let’s get some insights from thought leaders, executives, and consultants from various industries.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings stated that their biggest competitor is sleep. You read that right. They are so good at what they do, that the only thing stopping their customers from using their service is the need for sleep. He further said that “When you watch a show from Netflix and get addicted to it, you stay up late at night. We’re competing with sleep, on the margin.” But what keeps people from coming back to Netflix? The ability to know which types of show you’re most interested in. After finishing a good movie or series, Netflix will show you TV shows or movies related or similar to what you’ve already shown interest in and entice you to watch more, thus preventing you from cancelling your subscription.
With over 100 million subscribers, Netflix has undoubtedly become the king of online streaming. But what is the secret to their success? The answer, somewhat surprisingly, is Data Analytics. If you are a subscriber, you are familiar with how they send you suggestions of the next movie you should watch. Basically, this is done using your past search and watch data. This data is used to give them insights on what interests the subscriber most.
Thalamus, Inc Co-Founder & CEO, Garrett Gan stated that "Business intelligence is having access to all your business data, regardless of platform, in a singular, unified dashboard. This can include customer data from your CRM system, email marketing, and website engagements tracked in your data management platform, customer interactions on user chat tools like Intercom.io — all aggregated into a single holistic view of the customer and their interactions with your business. This is extremely important now as customers are interacting with a business across a multitude of platforms and channels, including their website, social channels, live chat tools, email, and also purchasing products both offline and online. Without a single consolidated view of the customer, it would be difficult to know how to best address them, or meet their needs. Due to this platform fragmentation, business intelligence is not just important — it is a must."
Conclusion
It’s clear that Data Analytics and the tools that facilitate better Business Intelligence are vital to the future of any company competing in the digital arena, regardless of industry or sector.
Although Data Analytics & BI has been in the limelight for a while, it's still a rarity to find a company where the CEO clearly leads the analytic efforts. This is unfortunate for most, but a key competitive advantage if you can exploit this insight.
Any significant investment in Data Analytics warrants a strong relationship with the corporate strategy--the CEO's chief accountability. It's incumbent on the CEO to develop an ROI schematic for how Data Analytics & BI will support the company's vision, and then lead the organization by example with a clear message that data matters.