The Foundation for Creating a Business Data Strategy

Data Strategy: We all know that data is vital to business. Well-analyzed information can be used to make forecasts, find new opportunities or establish patterns of user behavior. But before reaching these great objectives that every organization has in mind. It is necessary to know where to focus to outline the way forward.

It is not lost on anyone that all the devices we use every day collect data everywhere. A reality that is extrapolated to companies where hundreds of reports, contracts with clients or suppliers, or external studies are generated every day.

Documents that, in the best of cases, are shared among the team, but in most cases, they are relegated to a folder in the team of the employee who generated or received it. This results in businesses not having a comprehensive vision.

Building a Data Strategy is a Long-term Task

However, among the mass of information collected by any device, companies must select the most interesting ones. It is of little use to collect and collect continuously if there is no business structuring, analysis. And also, intelligence policy behind it. In short, a data management strategy that helps make decisions and advance the business.

The challenges of companies in this regard are necessary. In order to address them, the work of a knowledgeable technology consultant who guides you in defining a data management and analysis strategy will be essential. So what are the strengths to pay attention to? What should we explain to companies in this regard?

Internal Data – Get to Work

Although each company may have different criteria and needs depending. Among others, on the sector, territory, or volume of income, it handles certain very general guidelines and repeats them when looking at the most critical data.

When evaluating the essential data, we first have to analyze the work of each department or team of the company. Doing this analysis, we will be able to break down the information into different areas: administrative/financial, operational, commercial/communicative, for example. Niches that, although in theory, they may seem watertight, should be taken as part of a whole.

The Data of Each Department – A Part within a Whole

Once this carries out the dissection, we will be able to see which ones are repeating systematically and which are given on time. The first will be the most interesting when it comes to drawing up a strategy since it will allow us to see the evolution of the company and draw conclusions in the medium-long term.

In this framework, we will find many obsolete, unstructured, or meaningless data, at least, at the first moment of recruitment. Organizing them will be one more task within this strategic process that will lead us to define priorities, collection frequency, storage location and the rest of the steps to follow.

And it is that before discarding any type of information, it is essential to examine it in-depth. And consider whether it is worth keeping it. Perhaps, for example, it does not seem important to us to have more information about a visit to a potential but to know that we were there for future relationships.

And Abroad?

One of the most common mistakes in organizations is just looking at their processes without paying attention to what is happening around them. A gross mistake that leads to being late to market requirements or not properly meeting the demands of the present because they focus on the past. That is why external information is of the utmost importance.

But where should we look? As a reference, we can take some examples of the significant figures of technology. In a VPNmentor investigation, we discovered that Google, Amazon, Facebook or Spotify consider vital data such as the location of their customers, the devices they use or the relationship they have with other services.

Although the breakdown of data watched by these giants may even scare us. But, the truth is that they all share the same premise: to gather as much more information as possible. And then be able to customize the service to the maximum expression.

A Slow and Painstaking Task

As partners, we must ensure that organizations understand that building a data management and analysis strategy is not a short-term task. Addressing all the steps that a global analysis and data governance approaches require time, effort and investment.

However, the good news is that there are many tools on the market that help with this task. Every day, more advanced solutions where processes are much more agile and functional.

Still, the work and specialization of a partner are essential. Without that work, making the wrong decisions can lead to a failed project.

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