6 Tips for Making Better Data Management Decisions
Services businesses depend on data insights more than ever to understand how they can improve their work, meet ever-increasing client needs, and streamline behind-the-scenes processes. But gaining these insights requires the right data management solution that will orchestrate the flow of information and create insights needed to excel in the services industry.
What Data Management Solution is Right for You?
The following six tips will help your business make informed investment decisions to better manage and utilize your data.
1. Garbage In, Garbage Out
Companies aggregate and analyze their data to meet a wide variety of objectives ranging from improving their security to increasing profitability. In addition, data architecture can either center around a single source of truth or multiple versions of the truth. In any case, companies looking to invest in their data management tools must understand what approach is right for their unique scenario. According to Harvard Business Review, less than 50% of the average company’s structured data is used in making decisions, illustrating the need to devise a data strategy and choose a solution that will help you put it into full effect.
2. Create a Data Dictionary for Effective Management
Your company will eventually need a model of your business data and how it is all formally defined and managed in daily processes. Don’t wait until after you have invested in a new solution. Instead, create an outline of your data inventory, definitions of what data belongs in each subject area, and the rules that govern your data. Doing so will help you better understand what solution will be right for your ideal process.
3. Create a Central Repository for Single Source of Truth
Data needs a strong, central point of management that will be able to create a holistic view of the large amount of information being generated. Without a solution that can solidify a wide range of data into understandable insights, it will become harder to trust your data quality due to conflicting information, duplicate data, and a lack of clarity regarding how your conclusions about projects, resources, and clients were determined.
4. Plan Your Solution Integration Needs
The data you need to make better business decisions is already largely being generated by the systems that you have in place, but silos may be preventing you from utilizing and analyzing it effectively. Having an integration strategy that outlines where the data should flow, what applications will analyze it, and how it will be used can make your decision-making process much easier. Combining your strategy with the right solution will help your company start putting data into action quickly.
5. Future-Proof Your Solution
Every company will want their new data insights to help them quickly and effectively respond to pressing, current demands. However, make sure to take data security and audit integrity into account with your systems so that the agility they provide does not leave your company vulnerable in the long term. Together, a services business can make informed, fast data decisions without creating vulnerabilities that compound over time.
6. Analyze Your Solutions In Depth
There are many different data management solutions available on the market today, each with their own unique methodologies and areas of focus. Use the previous five tips to determine what exactly you want from your data management solution. Compare these demands to what today’s various solutions focus on for a successful data management solution investment for your company.
Get the Most From Your Data
An effective data management solution can make a huge difference in how your company uses critical data. However, the vast amount of options available today makes having an purpose-built solution aligned with your unique goals even more important. Find out what you can do in today’s tech-driven environment with our helpful Whitepaper, “The Kantata Professional Services Cloud – Purpose-Built Technology for Unmatched Advantage”