Data analytics can tell us everything from the correlation between adverse weather conditions and profitability to the trends in consumer behavior that fuel the success of a start-up business going to initial public offering (IPO). According to a recent survey that EY conducted with Forbes Insights, the majority (66%) of global companies are investing upwards of US$5 million in analytics, yet only 12% of global companies describe their analytics maturity as “leading.” Those who were not “born” digital have a longer journey ahead than those who are capturing customer data and interactions digitally from the start.
Organizations are investing in data collection but are often struggling to derive value from it. So what’s the solution?
Creating value from big data
Analyzing collected information with a human lens is where the true business advantage lies. Without the human element, analytics is an informative tool to create a bank of information. To create value from big data, you need to intelligently analyze, review and act on data findings.
Data, at its best, should have the power to disrupt and transform. Results from a rigorous analysis of short- and long-term data sets can confound an organization’s accepted wisdom and assumptions influenced by human bias. The leading 10% of enterprises surveyed reported a “significant” shift in their ability to use data to help meet competitive challenges. They encourage data analysis to be performed by someone who knows the organization — someone who is fully aware of the business objectives in the context of culture and leadership and who will inspire the right line of questioning. Rigorous questioning will lead to better answers and produce solutions that are fit for purpose.
How can big data drive transformative business change?
A quick glance at the way bigdata enabled analytics is being used will tell us that the current focus of business houses is to manipulate human emotions and choices to push their sales rather than make the product better. Such a strategy can, at the very best work for a short time. Long-term manipulation of people is bound to fail. People are not mere objects that can be expected to produce the same result by a given stimulus. Once people feel being manipulated, they react by losing trust in the process. Fact-checkers of social site content are proof that society is currently getting into a trust deficit. Next, it will follow up with an outright rejection of digital technologies.
Big data analytics give us the power to combine information from diverse contents and comprehend it. Used to create an adorable product that the consumers will like it can actually transform the user experience. For that to happen data analysis focus will need to shift from user manipulation to user research. Instead of pushing sales promotion data analytics need to feed product development activities. Create values for the customer and society.
Crowd sourced map and traffic information is one such excellent example. This can even expand to reduce carbon footprint. Map navigation may suggest the most eco-friendly route and speed reduce greenhouse gas footprint. In my recent paper, we present an IoT-based methodology to collect the vehicle emission data during vehicle movements and provide information to various stakeholders with location, performance, and status data to address the problem directly. Crowd-sourced performance analysis will show the best operating parameters and point out the problems be it the road condition, vehicle design, or driver’s training.
Vehicle performance monitoring is not the only example of a transformative business application of big data. Similar changes can be made in inventory management of slow-moving goods, disaster planning, public health, redistribution of pre-owned products, and product recycling.
Big data analytics is about big collaboration, bringing bigger harmony, about creating systemic changes. It is foolish to misuse such beautiful technologies for manipulating and dehumanizing fellow human beings.