How Businesses are Embracing The Power of Data and Technology
By Syed Aijaz VP, Strategic Solutions
The Power of Data and Technology
Data and technology are very powerful and in the business world, mobile computing, augmented reality and virtual reality are all things that are advancing businesses in a big way.
Understanding data and analytics for businesses is so important if you want to be able to scale up and advance at the correct rate. Much of the data out there in the world is critical for businesses, and most of the data that will be out there in the world in the next 20 years will be business-critical. This means that if it’s stolen or corrupted, it could be detrimental at a variety of levels.
The way that a business responds when artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated will decide whether a data economy will be successful or not. A data economy is more necessary than ever and as we develop better and bigger businesses, the lack of data is going to hurt many businesses out there in the world. Consider the Coronavirus pandemic and how data has been our best defence: the more we know around the world, the better we do. The COVID vaccine has been created as a result of the collective global data, and the crisis we have been in for the best part of a year tells us a lot about our reliance on data. It also teaches us about what we need to be able to respond to a crisis and data is the key for that.
Why Now is the Time to Embrace Data Management
Now is the time that we should be embracing data management, especially in the midst of a pandemic! The crisis has taught us:
We have come a long way in the last year. The authorities in China have released genetic sequencing of COVID-19, and this has made the vaccine efforts so much faster. The red tape has been cut, with no waits on grants and vaccine funding, and the milestones for research that usually take decades have been squeezed down into months. This is all because countries and their leaders are taking the time to discuss and share information from around the world easily. We can harness the existing and emerging technologies to enable us to decode and analyze data, and this is something that has made the pandemic easier to predict and manage. When you compare the current crisis to the Flu Pandemic of 1918, you can see how far the world has come in their response to a pandemic.
One thing that has been brought to light are the business inefficiencies out there in data operations. Not only are we underscoring the importance of data, we’re drawing up contingency plans and strategizing recoveries, too. Most businesses still haven’t stepped into the benefits of a solid data culture, and it’s here where business decisions are made based on their data. It’s not something that censures companies, and data management is ever-evolving and changing.
3 Top Stated Barriers to Digital Transformation
The technology industry says that every business should be a digital business, which is quite a reductionist point of view. It’s true that digital business is important, but it’s not the easiest thing to achieve, and there are barriers to this. The biggest three barriers include:
Data Privacy & Security
The worry that data will be hacked, or that hackers are more advanced than security measures put in place is something that worries a lot of businesses who have not turned over to the digital side. Security and privacy are two huge issues for businesses and keeping the data for their company secure is not always easy – especially when they are new to data!
A Lack of Cash & Resources
While the cost isn’t massive, it still costs money to keep data protected. Whether a business is small or not, it takes revenue and manpower to ensure that data is protected and analyzed correctly. If there is a serious lack of budget, it’s much harder to remain on top of this and this has a detrimental effect on the business as a whole.
Lack of Skills in the Workplace
It’s important to train employees on how to manage and analyze data. Without that training, your systems are left vulnerable and that can cost your business in a variety of ways.
While a data economy may seem like something that’s a way off right now, it’s something that we will all be identifying with at some point. Getting on top of your data right now is important so that you do not get left behind as a result. With the help of ExterNetworks Services, your business can embrace the power of data and technology to be able to operate much more efficiently.
