In this article you will find a reflection on the need to generate and obtaintruthful and quality key datafordecision-makingin the company.
- The quality of the data must be considered asa company culture.
- Business management tools have to provide a new level of service, that ofpersonalized prediction.
TWEET IT!Do you correctly use the data you generate or manage? In this article we analyze the importance of data for business management.
Archimedes once said, “give me a foothold and I will move the world”.
In the data environment, it could be said, give methe data I need, at the right time, and I will be able to make decisions.
Because the data, that “clean” and truthful key data, is what is neededto make the best decision, whether it is the right one or not.
And it is that having accurate data (or information) to make decisions comes from very far for Humanity.
For example, knowing on what date (data) there would be an eclipse has stopped wars or been used as a trick at some moments in history. Knowing the exact coordinates of a point makes many applications possible for decision making. Without the mathematically accurate trajectory data, we would not have reached the Moon. In the sea, having the data of where a sandbar or reef or shoal is, means capsizing or not.
Do companies use data for decision making?
Likewise, on a day-to-day basis, companies also need to have accurate key data to make decisions. And you don’t need to get bogged down with them. We all know a multitude of reports full of data, graphs, comparisons, trends, etc., which are very nice, but in the end they are superfluous and distract from what is really needed.
IBM estimates that 90% of all data generated by the Internet of Things (IOT) is not analyzed or used in business decision processes.
And you, do you correctly use the data you generate or manage? Do you know if they are reliable? Do they really help you make informed decisions? Do you have a data quality policy? What is the purpose of generating key data in your business?
Questions that you have surely asked yourself or ask yourself often, right?
Having the “n”KPI’s(Key Business Indicator) fair and necessary and personalized for the person(s) who must/have to make decisions about them, is a trend and is recommended.
And, in addition, each company or business must have itsown KPI’s and adjusted to their needs. That is indeed the key.
Because there are general managers who with 3 or 4 KPI’s are enough to know how their business is beating. They have access to many more, but those are the keys to your business dashboard.
In search of data quality
Companies, in general, should already be applying what is called “data quality”. The concept would be, now, something long to develop.
But, in short, the quality of the data begins with oneself and must bea company culture.And that means that, in your daily tasks, you should introduce, in a timely manner, the data you generate or receive by applying your company culture in the appropriate way. In addition to not retaining or hiding information, being quick in its management.
If all the staff in a company complied with this vital commandment, they would be applying a good principle of data quality.
And if that happens and the information systems are customized to your needs, we will go to another step or degree in obtaining key data for decision making. At the same time, it will allow us to generate new business strategies. They not only process their own data but also all external data (of whatever type) useful for business management.
The link in the evolution of business software
What is that new link or degree in obtaining key data?
It is being able topredict scenarios or risk situations, anticipate incidents, problems, customer cancellations or know how to improve the loyalty of existing ones, etc.
It is no longer just about generating data on the processes that are taking place or have taken place in/within your business, what is truly important isto anticipate the future, to predict, to see beyond. That is the current trend.
Apply realbusiness intelligence, based on truthful data, built thanks to the experience and knowledge of all the members of the company.
Because everyone is important. This is how trust is generated in people, being a factor of union and the basis for later trust in the results of the personalized KPIs.
The vision of the data of each department of the company
ForManagementor the CEO or the owner, for example, knowing the evolution of yourROI,liquidity,profit marginsoroperating growthwill be part of your business vision.
For afinancier, having control of thetreasuryand the present and future evolution of thecash flowor having non-standard ratios, but personalized ones, are their key objective. As well as closely following the evolution ofEBIDTA,EBITandROCE.
And for asalesmanager, anticipating in advance the% ofexpected sales closings or the evolution of thenumber of opportunities, as well as the future trend in the generation ofleads, or possible variations of theNPS, is their personal task.
And so with many other positions of responsibility or not exactly that.
Because each member of the company should have their own KPI’s in order to know theirevolutionandperformanceat all times . Since, as said before, we are all responsible for our data quality and actions. And for this reason, we must all work so that the reliability and veracity of the data generated by the company reach excellence so that, to whom it may concern, they canmake the best decisions at the right time.
Much of this has to be provided by our software and our business tools. Because it is no longer about having ERP’s, CRM’s, Business Intelligence, etc., and only processing, chewing and offering data.
True evolution is knowing how to anticipate, detect and notify the right person(s) at the right time.
To do this, we must use tools that have evolved to these new features, as Sage’s ERP solutions have already done.
That your software is one more collaborator of your business helping you and learning from all the available information. That allows you to generate that data, that personal key KPI and that helps you make the best possible decisions, or even proposes several and, where appropriate, until you could apply or consult it previously. Thatwould be applied business intelligence.
