Need the of the hour - 'Right Data'
THE CONTRARIAN VIEW
If you operate in a business environment, it is highly unlikely that you haven't heard of the following buzz words yet - 'Predictive Analytics' or 'Big Data'; or the relatively quaint terms of 'Decision Support System' or 'Management Information System'. All of these point towards the ever increasing focus of business organizations on translating data (external as well as internal) into actionable insights. Powered by various technological breakthroughs, such as :- (1) falling hardware costs, (2) increasing in-memory storage & computing capabilities, (3) advanced software solutions that deploy statistical models to detect correlations between a diverse set of variables - there is a distinct trend towards tapping into as many data sources as possible so as to obtain that unique insight which will distinguish the organization from its competition. This is reflected in the multitudes of reports and analyses that are being churned out by organizations at all hierarchical levels. More the better, is certainly becoming the new mantra!
However, in this headlong race into staying at the pole position of 'information supremacy', there are a couple of factors that I feel are being ignored to the detriment of the business. And these are - the capability and willingness of the organization to firstly test and then act on the actionable insights that are generated from these analyses. On too many occasions I think, more data analysis is being substituted for the less glamorous aspect of following up on the earlier analysis. Consequently, all this effort that is being put into understanding and making sense of all that influences the business, is set to naught. And this is where I would like to make a case for pursuing the goal of having 'Right Data' for decision making purposes.
By 'Right Data' I mean that level of analysis which is complemented by the organization's capabilities and willingness to follow-up on the same, thereby leading to a firm acceptance or negation of the hypothesis arising from such an analysis.
It may take some time, but I am willing to bet on the day in the not-so-distant future when organizations will seek expert advice / consulting on what should they focus on and what should they ignore, when it comes to data analysis.
Let me know your views on the above. I eagerly look forward to hearing from you! Furthermore, it would also be great if you could indulge the following request of mine - In order to assess where your organization / department stands in terms of using 'Right Data', kindly compute the number of :-
Reports and KPI (Key Performance Indicators) that get generated for your organization / department periodically;
Man-hours invested in generating and analyzing these reports and KPI; and finally
Man-hours invested in following up on these reports and KPI and taking corrective actions.
To conclude, in the words of a wise man I know, "Increasingly, it will not be what you know but what you do with it that will determine your professional success."