Making Business decisions based on the best available data is fundamental, but not always easy. Technology, processes, and company culture can all have an impact on how data is used within an organisation. Digital leaders suggest organisations must focus on three key areas: strategy, culture, and agility, which was discussed at a recent event held by Adobe in London, alongside its recent Digital Trends 2018 report.
James Birchall, manager in data analytics at Santander, says his organisation has changed the way it views data, and the Business now buys into the value of insight. It has been a three-year process, where Birchall has used the expertise of his team to embrace analytics Technology and to spread benefits across the organisation.
"As an analyst, I started to think about how we could change the culture -- we must empower the rest of the business to make better use of data," he says. "We want business teams to be more autonomous in the ways they use data and we want to help up-skill the rest of the organisation so people become more aware of the opportunities."
Birchall says insight has become increasingly crucial as the pace of change has quickened. Just a few years ago, digital banking centred on electronic payments and transfers. Now, banks must also consider a range of customer interaction points. A third of Santander's customers, for example, use the firm's mobile banking app.
"Digital is not standing still -- there's always a new feature or service," says Birchall. "Such change provides more opportunity for digital analytics to measure performance than ever before. We want to deliver operational and digital excellence. And we can't do that if we don't use data to understand our customers' experiences."
Driving cultural change through data analytics has not been easy. Birchall says the situation he faced at Santander three years ago was "bleak". The firm's analytics platforms provided limited data availability and low accuracy, and which limited trust.
"We produced lifeless tables and people were stuck in spreadsheets -- we wanted to change that and help empower our teams," says Birchall, who says the fix required an investment in technology and people. His business case for an investment in the Adobe Analytics platform was supported by the board. Such analytics, he said, would help executives to identify which projects were likely to boost customer experience.
Birchall then helped the rest of the organisation to create insight autonomously through the analytics platform.
"We made the investment and decided the business should make decisions based on facts," he says. "We can facilitate better conversations as a company. The days of static reporting are gone. We're unlocking more opportunities. We'll be working with teams like fraud and customer relationship management to unlock new capabilities. We're not stopping. We have a packed agenda this year."
Phil Lewis, director of digital experience at Boden, runs three teams -- digital insight, digital trading, and digital product and user experience -- at the retailer. While 95 per cent of the firm's 1.8 million customers buy products online, Boden is now moving onto the high street, having recently opened its first stores in London.
"It's an exciting time," says Lewis. "At Boden, I'm trying to ensure I'm a partner to the business for what they need. I'm using data to try and enable smart, informed decisions.
