Self-service analytics key to agile decision-making
Organizations need to be agile amid fast-changing economic conditions, and self-service analytics capabilities enable that dexterity.
Successful self-service analytics, however, takes more than simply investing in an easy-to-use business intelligence platform.
It calls for an organizational investment in data literacy and a cultural commitment to data-driven decision-making, according to a panel of experts speaking during a recent webinar hosted by data management vendor Alation.
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked an unprecedented pace of change, and the war in Ukraine has only added to the economic uncertainty. Heading into 2020, organizations could get by with quarterly — or even yearly — planning, and could use past performance to get a good idea of what was to come. For example, if an organization’s sales typically surged during the summer season, or the holiday season, but ebbed at another time of year, the organization could reasonably expect that to happen again. Meanwhile, if the organization had suppliers who delivered needed goods on a timely basis, it could reasonably expect those suppliers to continue to be reliable. The pandemic changed all that. Unemployment surged, eliminating any seasonal sales patterns. And supply chains were obliterated as travel was restricted and unexpected surges of demand for certain goods left shelves empty. To deal with the extraordinary pace of change, many organizations turned to analytics. Predictive modeling enabled them to play out different scenarios — worst case, best case and anything in between — that enabled them to prepare for what changes were to come. And eventually, some organizations not only survived the tumultuous early days of the pandemic but also thrived as the pandemic progressed. “If you think about the last two years, it’s a perfect example of businesses having to shift their model in an agile, quick way to become more digital and deal with COVID,” said Wendy Turner-Williams, chief data officer at Tableau. “Companies, businesses, individuals, analysts, CEOs all need data at the right time to answer the right questions. They need to be agile given whatever is happening in the market.” As a result of the sudden need for digitization driven by the pandemic, chief information officers have been crucial, added Myles Suer, Alation’s director of solutions marketing. “CIOs have kind of been the heroes of the last two years,” he said. “They kept things running when they never planned to run things the way it’s needed today. COVID really has been an acceleration point.” Now, with oil prices surging and supplies coming out of Eastern Europe disrupted as a result of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, there’s again economic tumult that data-driven decision-making is enabling organizations to manage. But it’s not just any analytics that leads to agility. Clockwise from top left, Randy Bean of NewVantage Partners, Myles Suer of Alation, Steve Jones of Capgemini and Wendy Turner-Williams of Tableau discuss self-service analytics during a webinar hosted by Alation. It’s real-time — or near real-time — decision-making that makes organizations agile, and that means enabling frontline workers and not just those in the executive suite to make decisions that will affect the business. It means adopting self-service analytics technology and instilling a culture that fosters self-service analytics. Companies, businesses, individuals, analysts, CEOs all need data at the right time to answer the right questions. They need to be agile given whatever is happening in the market.
For decades, analytics was the domain of data experts with organizations. If an employee wanted a report, dashboard or model to inform their decisions, they needed to submit a ticket to an IT team and wait for that data asset to be developed and delivered. Depending on the organization, that process could be a matter of days. But it could also be a matter of weeks or even months. Pre-pandemic, that might have sufficed.
