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Are the phrases “data is the new gold” or “data is the new oil” just marketing slogans to entice businesses to spend more money on information technology? Or are these for real and what makes a transformative difference in today’s business world?

Just like oil, which gains value when transformed into fuel or other much needed byproducts, when data is processed, organised, analysed and presented in high standard reporting and dashboards, it has a huge impact on the quality of strategic and operational decision making across all types of organisations. It is impressive how organisations do not realise that all the data they possess, which is scattered all over the place (e.g. in XL files, personal lap-tops, company servers etc) can have such an impact on their business and performance if that data is properly collected, stored, analysed and converted into high quality reporting and KPI/performance dashboards. In fact, the huge volumes of data which organisations create to support their business activities and decision making processes, justify the existence of big data companies who have, over the last 20 years developed sophisticated competencies in data infrastructure services and technology eco-systems which help companies in managing their data more efficiently across a wide range of industries being healthcare, education, tourism, financial services, remote gaming, manufacturing and much more.

It is fair to say that the ability of any organisation to have well defined data governance policies which as a result enable it (i.e. the organisation) to structure and manage its data effectively, will lead to a competitive advantage over companies that make decisions based on traditional or legacy reporting. This competitive edge is achieved because effective data management strategies enhance the organisation’s knowledge management tools thus providing management with high quality reporting for decision making purposes. Coupled with publicly available data, businesses can become more proactive in analysing trends, market dynamics and economic data hence their ability to adjust their strategies and direction of travel.

By and large, data is the basis of all advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning which provide the necessary reporting to address strategic issues, problem solving and assist management to improve decision making. Being a “data-driven organisation” has to be become embedded at the core of all organisational strategies and systems. This has to be coupled by a robust and secure data infrastructure system to make sure that all data is stored safely with inbuilt data redundancy and security features.

The data opportunity:
In business, decision making is not exclusively a management responsibility because each person in an organisation who has access to rich data in the context of their job responsibilities will be enabled to make better decisions and therefore perform better. Traditionally, management was reluctant to share data with employees but in today’s increasingly digitalised world, employers have understood the benefits of democratising information. There is a much clearer understanding that where traditional reporting was considered an unavoidable cost for an organisation, modern data management strategies have the potential of unlocking huge value for the business. This is because organisations are realising that it has become mission critical to protect and maximise the value of the data created within.