Are You A Data Dinosaur?

We hear it all the time - technology is evolving at the fastest rate in recorded history, and the amount of data produced every day is increasing at a mind-boggling speed too. Staying abreast of the technology that enables you to truly leverage your data doesn't have to be difficult - and is absolutely essential for any organisation to survive beyond breakeven.

If you don’t know your sankey from your mekko, and your predictions are based purely on 'gut feel', it might be a good idea to take the self assessment below and see where you stand on Donna's Data Dinosaur scale.

The Data Dinosaur Scale

Below are my top 10 indicators that you are behind the times - see how many you can relate to and where that puts you on my scale!

0: You are the Datachampodon

1-2: You are the Contendertops

3-4: You are the Grapplingogator

5 or more: You are an DAWDLERSAURUS! Get in touch so I can help you bring out of the stone-age and into the 21st century.

1. Your analysis cycle is too long - if you're still reporting on weekly/monthly cycles, it is much harder to respond promptly to an incoming threat. Embracing real-time data and live reporting solutions can enable you adapt swiftly to changing market dynamics, and even unlock new efficiencies within the organisation that would otherwise remain hidden.
2. You only know what 'already happened' -?if your analytics only tells you more about what happened, and doesn't offer you a clue as to what may happen, you will find it difficult to uncover new opportunities. Even the most basic of predictive analytics can help businesses attract, retain and grow their most profitable customers whilst also improving operations, encouraging investment and reducing risk.
3. Spreadsheets (Don't. Even. Get. Me. Started.) - Prone to human error. Unsecure. Not collaborative. Ungoverned. Undetected mistakes. Multiple versions of the truth. Hard to track changes. The list goes on... make your spreadsheets DEADsheets!
4. Your visualisations tell you what you already know - if you are only using dashboards to illustrate the data you do have, you're missing out! Using dashboards to highlight the exceptions, the gaps, the things you don't know - included external sources of data can make ALL the difference.
5. You're not analysing your unstructured data - many firms are not leveraging the hidden insights they have in their unstructured data. And those who do, often do it in a laborious, manual way. We can help you largely reduce the manual efforts (and costs!) of data storage, integration, cleansing and analysis of this data to produce a more complete view of your business.
6. Your data doesn't give you a view of the competition - if you're only analysing your own data, you're only getting a part of the story. Gathering data about your competitor companies, their products and performance could be the missing piece of your puzzle.
7. You're not leveraging the skills/knowledge within your departments -?non tech staff often have department/audience specific knowledge and expertise that the app developers don't. (Carefully) empowering them with self-service analytics can help them respond more effectively to changing conditions and keep your organisation running ahead of the game.
8. You don't automate your data pipeline - if you have just a few specialists managing the process of getting your data analytics ready you're likely to face bottlenecks that limit your access to potentially valuable data, as well as carrying the risk of specialised expertise leaving the business. Removing the burden from this small number of individuals by exploring data transformation can automate the process and significantly increase the speed at which data becomes ready for actionable insights.
9. You're teams are 'busy' instead of productive - if you have people sat at their desk in front of charts all day, digging through massive datasets to try to access the insights that are needed most, they may not fully analyse what's available, and may only focus on the measures that are easiest to collect. Ensuring your dashboard collects, organises and automatically alerts the right people of what they need to know at the right time, and in the right way (e.g. mobile alert, triggered emailed report etc) is the best way to become productive instead of busy.
10. Poor quality or asymmetrical data - nothing is more harmful to data analytics than inaccurate data. Whether it was inputted in correctly in the first place, or one system does not reflect the changes made in another system, this can lead to significant negative consequences if the analysis is used to influence decisions. 1. Having a dedicated score sheet within each dashboard that highlights the 'bad-data' is great. 2. Having a process to find and fix the bad data is event better. 3. Having the ability to clean the data ON THE FLY, write back to the source, and then reload the dashboard is the DATA DREAM.

How can I help?

Supported by a fantastic team of consultants at Differentia Consulting I can provide you with a range of; management consulting, application consulting, data transformation, business process and business reporting, technical services and integration of partner solutions to help you fully unleash your data's true potential.

We engage discretely or as part of a long term partnership that may also involve our other services capabilities, managed services resourcing services and training services.

Final Thoughts

This quick and fun assessment is merely meant to help those that have been too busy to keep up with the ever changing data landscape consider what gaps they may have. If you feel you have slipped behind, feel free to get in touch for chat about the solutions and services we have in place that will help you thrive in this digital era.