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More companies are now using data analytics to make better decisions, refute or verify existing models, and develop new products and services. McKinsey’s research reveals that organizations that use big data to leverage customer behavioural insights outperform their industry peers in sales growth (by 85%) and gross margin (by over 25%).

Therefore, it’s no surprise that most of today’s innovative products, solutions, processes, and services are from companies that successfully leveraged and applied big data customer insights. A Forrester report shows that data-driven companies grow at an average rate of over 30% annually.

This blog looks at how and why the best businesses are data-driven and how connectivity comes into play to help capitalize on big data.

Businesses rely on big data and analytics to make game-changing decisions, from launching new innovative products to tackling evolving consumer tastes. It’s incredible how much data science can reveal about your customers’ preferences, behaviour, and mood. The applications range from surprising and amusing to potentially life-saving.

For example, Facebook Data Science can accurately predict the likelihood of lasting relationships and breakups from its analysis of online couple interactions. At the same time, Northeastern University researchers used Twitter Data to develop a model that accurately predicts flu outbreaks, sometimes six weeks in advance.

However, the effective use of big data goes beyond selecting robust business intelligence solutions. Instead, it requires organisations to build effective data-driven cultures. Top brands that dominate their respective business landscape are data-driven and effectively utilise the valuable insights from their big data to guide all their decision-making.

McKinsey reports that customer analytics boosts corporate performance. Additionally, data-driven companies are 23 times more likely than their competitors to acquire customers. As a result, they are 19 times more likely to achieve above-average profitability.

Successful companies such as Google, Netflix, and Amazon know that they must go beyond identifying the ideal buyer personas. Instead, they rely on comprehensive data analytics of their customers’ behaviours to get an accurate picture of what they need or want and how to deliver it best.

Amazon is guided by its corporate mission statement to become the most customer-centric company globally. As a result, the company has enjoyed impressive free cash flows for the past five years, rising from $7.4 billion in 2017 to reach $15.61 billion in 2020.

Google’s parent company Alphabet makes most of its advertising revenue from advertising. For example, Statista revealed the company’s revenue from Google websites, such as YouTube advertising was $178 billion. Additionally, Google Search was the biggest revenue segment for the company bringing in $149 billion for the same period.

Netflix uses data analytics to comb its subscribers’ viewing habits to gather valuable insights and produce heavily personalised content. Today, it is the leading subscription video-on-demand streaming service worldwide.

As you can see, the above three companies all have different business models and products but have built their vast empires by focusing on customer behaviour data analytics.

Business leaders who wish to transition into data-driven organisations can take the following steps:

• Identify their business needs and the value of transitioning to a data-driven culture. For example, if the aim is improving operational productivity through data standardisation, they should be clear on how it aligns with their broader outlook. They should also identify their required, existing, and missing data.
• Establish effective change management strategies. They should take steps to sensitise and align their organisations, including effective stakeholder communication and engagement.
• Envision what success looks like. Having a clear picture of success helps inspire and align everyone in the organisation and facilitates buy-in from stakeholders.
• Prioritise integration for data connectivity. Businesses need proper connectivity to capitalise on big data.

It is not sufficient for businesses to only have data available to become truly data-driven. The biggest problem many organisations make when transitioning is poor system integration. Therefore, the data they collect from their daily operations resides in various locations siloed from one another.

The lack of interconnectivity leads to inefficiency and limits the organisation’s ability to scale the initiative successfully. Therefore, business leaders should ensure that their systems, repositories, and databases are connected for efficient information consumption. Conversely, poor data connectivity leads to operational inefficiencies and poor performance.

Successful modern businesses rely on connectivity to run efficiently. Connectivity dictates how organisations work, how quickly they get things done, how well they collaborate with other enterprises, and how they respond to current issues. Connectivity is the lifeline that runs everything from digital workplaces to internal and external communications and capitalising on big data.

A recent Cisco Broadband Index revealed that Malaysian workers believe that reliable internet connection is critical for economic and societal growth. 80% of respondents said everyone should have access to a secure and reliable internet connection, while 81% said reliable and quality broadband connections were essential.

Allo Technology remains committed to providing Malaysian businesses with reliable connectivity to implement a data-driven culture. Contact us today to learn how we can bring your business the quality access you need to capitalise on big data.