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Basing a decision on facts and truth is always more beneficial than using guesswork or gut instinct as a guide. Businesses gain numerous advantages from data-driven decision-making, particularly when machine learning analyzes data in real time. It helps business leaders stay within budget, brings projects in on time, enables personalized service, decreases waste, and more. However, reliable, contextual data analytics insights aren’t always readily available, which can put your clients at a disadvantage.
Good Data In, Good Insights Out
The first challenge software companies need to overcome when providing data analytics is to ensure they’re analyzing “good data.” However, as Harvard Business Review points out, good data is more than accurate, high-quality, and formatted correctly. It must also be complete. If a machine learning model lacks data from a critical input, the analysis it delivers will be subpar—or simply wrong. For example, suppose a solution is designed to monitor machine conditions but doesn’t consider vibration. In that case, an analysis could indicate that the equipment is in good working order when it’s actually on the verge of failure.
It’s vital to capture all data necessary for analysis, so the solution delivers insights with real value. Sometimes it means rethinking data collection processes your clients use. Just because data is readily available from barcodes or RFID, optical character recognition (OCR), or leveraging customer data from a loyalty program, doesn’t mean analysis based on only that information will lead to the best decisions. Software companies must consider all types of data to enhance analysis and find ways to collect them, possibly with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, video or images, or an API from a third party. Then, prepare that data for analysis with other sources and deliver relevant insights that reflect the big picture.
Making Data Available to the Augmented Consumer
Another challenge you need to help your users overcome is providing insights to the people who need them when they need them. Business intelligence (BI) tools enable enterprises to create dashboards and visualize data analysis. However, they require expertise to build and time for examination. That lag in time from the request to the review could result in missed opportunities or moving forward with an urgent decision without crucial information. Organizations that want each employee to make data-driven decisions find that legacy BI tools can’t deliver insights as fast as their teams work.
Gartner observed enterprises across markets and industries struggling to use BI dashboards—and turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to make analysis quicker and easily accessible by anyone who needs it. With the help of AI, these “augmented consumers” don’t need to rely on data analysts. After training a model for the user’s industry, the platform analyzes data and provides insights within seconds. These platforms make it easier for employees throughout an organization to get the answers they need in the moment and build data-based decision-making into their daily workflows.
Unlock Insights from Your Software
Virtually any TSP can help users gain the insights they need for data-based decision-making. The data your solution collects may be the key to understanding consumers better, operating more cost-effectively, or identifying patterns that indicate equipment needs maintenance or repair. To enhance your users’ experiences with these types of insights:
- Add analytics to your software through development or partnership
- Include a dashboard with graphical representations of the most vital information for users
- Enable integration with a data analytics program
You also have the option to monetize the data you collect and offer Insights as a Service. Your users may not have the in-house expertise or solutions to analyze data. However, you may be able to analyze data from your software, offer analysis on a subscription basis, and use predictive analytics leveraging historical and current data from your software and third-party databases, giving your users visibility into what’s likely to come next. These insights could inform sales teams about their top sales prospects, which employees are likely to resign, products that will be in demand next season, or when a device needs maintenance to stay in good working order.
What Enabling Data-Driven Decision Making Can Do For Your Business
Basing business decisions on data helps users – from an employee on a shop floor to an executive in the C-suite—choose the best next action. However, they also help organizations overall. When data insights are readily available to everyone in the enterprise, there is greater transparency and coordination among departments. Product or service quality can be more consistent, and the organization can work together to continuously improve operations and increase competitiveness.
Your TSP business can contribute to moving your users’ businesses forward by leveraging data from your software—and grow your business in the process. Analyze the data and see which direction your business should go.
