Many economic and technology experts have proclaimed data to be this generation’s version of oil. Supporting this view, The Economist featured an article earlier this year that declared data the world’s most valuable resource.
The comparison to oil is a good one. Like oil, data is extracted, refined, sold, and fought over. During the last century, oil drove new industries such as plastics, chemicals, and automobiles. In this century, data is doing the same thing by powering new online services and creating new economics for all industries.
Data has even given us a new generation of tycoons: 5 of top 6 firms in market capitalization are technology companies whose businesses rely on producing, analyzing, and sharing data – Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook.
So how are you using data? Will it allow you to become the next Getty or Rockefeller?
The data you own is an asset just as important as capital and labor, and should be an important factor in any 3-year or 5-year corporate plan, acquisition, or decision to enter new markets. You most likely have no problem collecting and storing data, but are you maximizing this asset to drive the best possible business results?
Using analytics to maximize data is no longer the realm of pure technology companies or global giants with teams of data scientists; there are use cases and business imperatives for analytics in every vertical and line of business. Analytics creates business value by doing two main things: driving top line revenue and making improvements to the bottom line.
Airbnb and Uber are examples of companies that have maximized their data assets to create brand new business models and markets. Finding value in your data to drive top line results does not have to be a disruptive activity like those companies have created, but think about how you can use your data to understand customer experience, more accurately target new customers, and maximize the value of existing ones. Combining traditional customer history data with location, weather, and social media data can help you achieve those goals.
The other way data improves results is by creating efficiencies that increase profitability. Although not a new approach, automated decision making to improve pricing, cross-selling, or fraud detection processes have changed the way we conduct business. Why, for example, should the fraud team at an insurance company have to review every single claim? Allow analytics to decide which claims are likely to be fraudulent and let the teams focus on those.
Using analytics for cost reductions is going even further today. With real-time and sensor data available, companies can squeeze more efficiencies and profitability out of processes such as transportation. Using sensors that track food temperature real-time throughout a truck’s journey from manufacturer to customer, for example, can enable trucking companies to deliver unspoiled food more frequently to their customers, increasing edibility while reducing waste and shrink. Savings achieved!
The only way to maximize the value of your data is to make it ubiquitous and use it exponentially. No matter where you are in your journey with data, the LRS Analytics staff are experts at sourcing, cleansing, storing, and visualizing all of your data. Contact us at analytics@lrs.com and let us help you drive better business results by finding value in your data.
About the author
Steve Cavolick is a Senior Solution Architect with LRS IT Solutions. With over 20 years of experience in enterprise business analytics and information management, Steve is 100% focused on helping customers find value in their data to drive better business outcomes. Using technologies from best-of-breed vendors, he has created solutions for the retail, telco, manufacturing, distribution, financial services, gaming, and insurance industries.