5 Keys to Leading in the Age of Analytics

Organizations of all sizes have to consider the use of big data analytics, and understand how analytics fits into the corporate strategy.

Data and analytics have redefined the way we compete. Data is a critical corporate asset that organizations are starting to monetize in new ways to get ahead of their competition. The bottom line? Companies that leverage data to drive the performance of their organization’s decisions are winning at a faster rate than their competition.

One alarming trend for large corporations is that the size of the organization is no longer a competitive barrier to producing world class analytics. A general trend emerging in the marketplace is that the competitive advantage that large companies have in the use of analytics is disappearing as the cost of accessing, processing, and storing data is plummeting. Large teams of data scientists and millions of dollars are no longer required to drive insights from a company’s data assets. Analytical methods and tools are becoming more ubiquitous and less costly, leveling the playing fields for companies large and small.

Executives that know how to lead in this new era of data analytics will outpace their competition. It will require a shift in how you view analytics and the importance the organization places on the building of analytical capabilities. There are five keys to leading in the age of analytics:

1.Analytics as a corporate strategy. Embed analytical capabilities and strategies into your corporate objectives. Having a clear vision of winning through analytics is essential to provide direction and organizational energy for the development of these needed capabilities. It is through these new methods, tools, and techniques that you will develop new products, services, markets, and opportunities.

2.Monetization strategy. Develop monetization strategies as valuable corporate assets. A monetization strategy is a plan to achieve one or more business goals through tactics or actions that improve the bottom line, either increasing revenue or reducing costs. In the same way, an organization might develop KPI’s to help manage and understand business performance, monetization strategies that drive a competitive advantage should be developed continuously and shared throughout the organization.

3.Develop scalable insights and capabilities. Building one-off analytical solutions has been the norm in corporate America. Hours are poured into solving difficult problems to capture a revenue opportunity, only to have the analytics, once developed to support the plan, lie dormant or never utilized again. Leaders should look to develop monetization strategies and analytics that are automated, repeatable, and scalable throughout their organization. This approach will lead to analytics that are scaled throughout the organization that other departments can leverage rather than building their own siloed solutions.

4.Big data is more than just big hype. If your organization has not started on the path toward building out a big data environment, you are behind the curve.