Cutting the Data “Trans Fat”
- By Lachlan Colquhoun
- April 17, 2023
Technology leaders have come to understand that data comes in many forms and that, often, it can be frustrating and disappointing.
The track record for many recent data projects is patchy.
In Australia, for example, successive data breaches have shown that instead of a precious hoard of data being a major organizational asset, the hoard can be a toxic liability.
Instead of data being the “new oil”, a new catchphrase is that it can also be “trans fat.”
One goal to consistently deliver real business benefit is for data to be accessible in real time.
Working backward from this, if the data is accessible in real time, the governance will likely be good. When the relevant data has been taken out of the appropriate silos and put in a pristine data lake, analytical tools can do what they were intended for.
Using a plumbing analogy, if the data is coming out in real-time, the pipes are clean, the pressure is adequate, and the taps flow on demand.
Strategic Focus
Evidence of this comes from the second annual “State of the Data Race 2022” survey completed by solutions provider DataStax.
The research delivers the cumulative views of more than 500 global technology executives and practitioners on how real-time data does improve business performance.
The particular focus is on how data “powers in-the-moment use cases such as recommendations and personalization, or always up-to-date inventory and logistics.”
“Leveraging it pays off in two important ways: innovations with real-time data lead to higher revenue growth and increased productivity,” the report says.
“If there’s one line to take away in the current market context, it’s ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get coding’”
It makes that conclusion because 52% of organizations that excel at leveraging data say they have a “strategic focus that’s built around real-time data to create value across the organization.”
“There’s a good reason for this: they are also most likely to say that real-time data has a transformative effect on revenue. In other words, an organization-wide focus on leveraging real-time data is a proven way to accelerate revenue growth,” adds the report.
Talent war
The report offers some quantifiable benefits. 2.3 times: that is the increased likelihood of the “transformative impact” of real-time data on revenues from making it a strategic focus across the organization.
The responses from the IT leaders also point to the dynamics of the war for top development talent.
35% of leaders say that finding the appropriate skills in their business units is the top barrier to leveraging real-time data.
Top talent likes a challenge, so 86% of developers at organizations with a strategic focus on real-time data say that “technology is more exciting than ever.” In organizations without such a strategic focus, the number is only 24%.
It’s not hard to guess where the top talent will choose to work, so it’s a snowball effect. Make real-time data the focus, the top talent will stay and enjoy their work, and the organization will be the winner.
There is also a real-time impact on consumers. It’s about “discovering what’s about to become your new favorite album from a band you’ve never heard of.”
The report gives one example. In the U.S., Home Depot uses AI to monitor weather activity and link it to its inventory. It enables the retailer to proactively move items like chainsaws and generators to where they are most likely in demand.
“Data is becoming a key tool in business leaders’ toolboxes to help them hit their numbers in uncertain times,” the report says.
“How do you squeeze cost and risk out of inventory and supply chain management? How do you gain a few points of uplift from shopping cart composition or your B2B sales operation?”
The positive news is that the as-a-service model puts best-of-breed technology in easier reach. There are no capital costs and “nothing to stop a proof-of-concept from getting started in minutes.”
Also, developers are desperate to work with cutting-edge technologies. They are “probably champing at the bit to do more with real-time data activation” and want to bring AI into that equation.
So, what are the next steps if your organization has been a laggard?
“If there’s one line to take away in the current market context, it’s ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get coding,’” the report says.
“The value of apps that use data to drive smart action in real time has been amply proven.
“Your organization’s commitment, imagination, and drive are all that’s needed to weather any storm on the horizon — and come out stronger for it.”
Lachlan Colquhoun is the Australia and New Zealand correspondent for CDOTrends and the NextGenConnectivity editor. He remains fascinated with how businesses reinvent themselves through digital technology to solve existing issues and change their entire business models. You can reach him at [email protected].
Image credit: iStockphoto/Ilona Shorokhova