Data is at the heart of digital transformation, just as it is at the center of our lives and the services we use. Thanks to this significant phase of change we are experiencing, companies now have access to an enormous amount of data that can bring great value. Not a day goes by today without data representing an opportunity to be competitive and grow in the market. Having analytics—tools to interpret and extract knowledge from data—is the only path every company must and can take in order to make informed decisions. It is crucial to do this with attention and meticulous care, studying the data in order to process it in the best possible way and, thanks to it, make business predictions. That said, how can an organization maximize the value that data holds? Let’s discover together the challenge faced by digital transformation and analytics.
Digital transformation and analytics: the valorization of data.
Valorizing the internal and external data assets of a company. This is the primary role of digital transformation, a true transformation journey that begins with organizational change and also involves the way the company delivers its services externally. The role of data in this journey is crucial. The real challenge lies in the valorization and management of data as a business asset. The first thing to do is undoubtedly to start with concrete business objectives and then define how data could serve as a bridge to achieve them.
Managing and protecting information is certainly important, but what is even more relevant is its valorization. Having a data-driven culture, knowing how to delve into it fully while recognizing its importance in decision-making processes within a company, would foster the development of skills in both data management and analysis. To make all of this possible, it is important to work on internal people and their understanding of data and management tools, so they can communicate them clearly. If this “happy island” for data cannot be recreated, all the benefits initially envisioned would remain confined to paper, the only medium capable of containing them. The mind would have no access to it, and data, not revealing its essence, would not provide the surplus value that characterizes it. In the end, we can say that the path of data consists of two roads:
- The first thing that data must be able to do is support the growth of the organization in terms of profit, integration, and market positioning. If we were to draw a parallel with the football world, we could say that data should be used to “play on the offensive,” gaining insights with which to seize truly interesting business opportunities. On the other hand, the company should have the capability and tools to analyze, “shape,” and monetize the data itself.
- The second thing that data must do is mitigate the risks of the organization. This is where we move from offense to “defense” in order to protect company information. All of this is made possible by ensuring the integrity of the data, the information received, and the systems.
Digital transformation and analytics: effective data strategy.
The topic of data has already been extensively explored in other blog posts of ours, where it is clear that a data strategy proves not only effective but essential for owning and managing data according to business needs and the goals the organization has set out to achieve over time.
Its strength lies not only in “lending a hand” but in the complete shift in perspective, significantly improving performance through a strategic vision capable of accelerating change. At this point, a natural question arises: can data stand on its own? In the United States alone, to effectively leverage the potential of big data in decision-making processes, between 140,000 and 190,000 people would be needed. Vincenzo Cosenza.
And here we are at the crux of the matter. While even a single data point could contain valuable information, on its own, it has no meaning. What makes it valuable and usable is the analyst and their ability to visualize, study, and emphasize it as it deserves. It is no coincidence that data strategy first and foremost talks about business, even before data, establishing clear objectives to achieve the desired benefits, analyzing the data present and its usability within the company. This analysis would allow for an increase in quality, availability, and usability while minimizing costs and the effort spent—efforts that will need to be invested in taking the “right” direction.
Digital transformation and analytics: the great challenge in data management.
As a result of the above analysis, transforming data into information and knowledge would allow companies to innovate through the acquisition of invaluable know-how in the world of analytics! This becomes a possibility for those who master data and possess the skills to do so, spreading the importance of analysis within the company to achieve excellent results and revolutionize the company’s future. After all, the goal is not only to grow in “numbers” but above all in professionalism, skills, and quality. Therefore, the greatest challenge is data management at a historical moment when the need for numbers has significantly increased. In a post-pandemic reality where digital transformation and analytics are revisiting their relationship with a clear focus on change, in a scenario where data requires greater attention to be captured and collected, in order to support and facilitate decision-making in Industry 4.0, care for everything that is measurable is essential.
Because it is true that digital transformation puts new technological innovation tools at the center, capable of handling much of the work while minimizing difficulties in data management, it is also true that there must be qualified people at the helm who can transfer clear and precise evidence. Not by chance, in a recent survey conducted by Dataversity, the difficulties faced by all organizations in data management stand out. Among the most relevant is the so-called skill shortage, meaning the lack of internal resources with the necessary skills for a specific role. This is a highly significant point: people at the center, it is not and will never be just a mantra but the cornerstone upon which the entire world of analytics rests. Keep following us! Data is now a constant for companies that want to speak the language of innovation in a world of digital transformation and analytics, and we will be happy to accompany you on this journey with its many facets. See you soon!
