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Most business owners would probably agree that, in today\u2019s world, data rules. But finding, organizing and deriving meaning from the terabytes upon terabytes of information out there isn\u2019t\u00a0easy.<\/p>\n
How can your company harness the power of data without throwing dollars into the technological void? By investing in a formal initiative to incorporate data analytics into your decision making and strategic planning. However, as is so often the case, this is much easier said than\u00a0done.<\/p>\n
What is it? <\/strong><\/p>\n Data analytics is the science of collecting and analyzing sets of data to develop useful insights, make connections between data points, and identify trends or patterns.<\/p>\n The process incorporates research, computer programming and statistical analysis to produce various types of data analytics \u2014 such as predictive, prescriptive, diagnostic and descriptive. The information used can come from both internal and external sources. Internal sources typically include a company\u2019s financial statements, sales records and customer database. External data may be obtained from government websites, industry associations, publicly distributed surveys and social\u00a0media.<\/p>\n What are the advantages?<\/strong><\/p>\n There are several potential advantages of data analytics for businesses. When done right, it will shed light on what could help or hinder you in fulfilling strategic objectives and improving performance in a cost-efficient way. More specifically, data analytics can enable you\u00a0to:<\/p>\n Perhaps best of all, data analytics facilitates fact-based discussions and planning. This can head off emotionally based arguments and diminish the impact of \u201coffice politics\u201d on whether the company should make a major\u00a0move.<\/p>\n Will I need special software?<\/strong><\/p>\n Generally, a business will need to invest in data analytics software to reap the advantages. If you decide to do so, it\u2019s important not to put the cart before the horse. That is, you don\u2019t want to run out and buy an expensive product and then figure out how to use it. Your company\u2019s informational needs should dictate what you\u00a0buy.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s software can produce thousands of metrics, so you\u2019re best off first determining which ones you want to track \u2014 now and down the road. You also need to ensure that the solution you buy comes with strong cybersecurity protections and complies with any applicable privacy and security regulations.<\/p>\n Additionally, you should determine how well a prospective data analytics solution would integrate with your other applications and data. If the software can\u2019t access vital information, or employees have to input data manually, it will likely be a poor investment.<\/p>\n Is it right for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Properly used, and supported by the right software, data analytics can give your business a competitive edge. But it can be a costly endeavor that may call for an outside consultant to get you up and running. Contact us for help identifying which metrics you should target as well as forecasting the requisite costs\u00a0\u2014 both upfront and ongoing \u2014 likely to be involved.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2023<\/em><\/p>\n <\/body> Most business owners would probably agree that, in today\u2019s world, data rules. But finding, organizing and deriving meaning from the terabytes upon terabytes of information out there isn\u2019t\u00a0easy. How can your company harness the power of data without throwing dollars into the technological void? By investing in a formal initiative to incorporate data analytics into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,14,10],"tags":[8,11,12],"class_list":["post-16477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-business","category-news","tag-articles","tag-news","tag-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16477"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16478,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16477\/revisions\/16478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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