Blog

Data is an integral part of modern life. Almost every human action generates large data amounts. The most valuable use of this data is how companies use it to make business decisions. For example, viewing candidates’ profiles on LinkedIn to recruit a targeted candidate, research and identification of priority markets for product promotion.

The most serious business data applications are automated and used to solve more complex and important tasks.

• The American company that specializes in express delivery and logistics UPS has achieved savings in fuel and wages costs. The company has also been able to reduce energy consumption by using location and traffic data in combination with Artificial Intelligence.
• Retailers Amazon and Walmart work with customer behavior data to predict product demand.
• Entertainment company Netflix analyzes data about the use of the service by users, determines their interests and reasons for leaving the page.

These processes take place automatically without human involvement.

Experience and intuition are traditional assistants to business leaders. However, despite the value of these qualities, a business using data in the decision-making process is 19 times more profitable. Data helps to make better business decisions that leads to goals achievement.

Many companies claim to be data-driven because it is «trendy» these days. But in practice this is not entirely true. They only take data into account if the data matches the beliefs and intuition of the business leader. A data driven business assumes that data is the only point of truth. Decision making of any complexity occurs as a result of data analysis.

There are 4 main areas where data is needed to make effective decisions:

1. Solutions related to customers, markets and competitors

The data will help to understand better customer behavior, track changes in habits and interests, make a targeted offer, meet customer expectations and stay ahead of the competition.

2. Financial decisions

The company’s management has the ability to investigate in detail sales trends, cash flow cycles, profit forecasts and changes in stock prices. This allows to make informed budget allocation decisions and leads to cost savings and growth.

3. Decisions related to internal operating activities

The joint use of data and Artificial Intelligence allows to optimize the operation of equipment, set up the process of preventive maintenance. This will allow to determine in advance where breakdowns may occur, and repairs will be required. With this information it’s possible to plan the optimal replacement / repair process and minimize deadtime.

4. Solutions related to human resources

The data helps to study the team composition and quality, to determine the shortage of certain specialists, qualifications level, the appropriateness of compensation for a certain type of work, since employees are always tempted to go to a competitor, taking their experience and skills with them. So, using the data, Google identified 8 basic qualities of a good manager, including «a good coach», «a clear vision of the team». This analysis allowed the management of the company to make informed decisions on the promotion of employees on the career ladder.