A lot of data is generated in the Kenyan
economy every day. With trailblazing platforms, which has disrupted financial
services and access to money, the volume of data we are looking at is immense.
All businesses in one way or the other are constantly churning new data.
For businesses that are data-driven, such data
has been stored in clouds, servers and data warehouses and has been extracted
from systems on a high-level basis to determine change in strategy or for
control purposes to ensure businesses are hitting set targets.
With the new era of data code-named “BigData”, the way businesses are looking at data and extracting insights from it
has drastically evolved. No longer will businesses rely on the traditional
approach of shooting from the hip decision making. Now, more than ever, they
will be required to use an evidence-based approach.
As we move into this exciting new space, much
like its cousin Blockchain which gave rise to the notorious cryptocurrency
craze, Big Data will need some demystifying going forward. This article seeks
to outline some key areas around Big Data and analytics.
CLEAR OBJECTIVES:
As
with any project, organizations setting up Big Data solutions need to be clear
on what business needs Big Data and analytics are going to solve. Many organizations
might be tempted, in a bid to oust their competition and get to market ahead of
them, to create capacity and Big Data solutions without really understanding
what problem it is going to solve. At the onset, many organizations who go
about it with no set objectives may suffer losses due to the risky nature of
such undertakings.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT:
From
the onset, many organizations will grapple with whether existing infrastructure
and linkages will be suited to capture and more importantly relay insights
arising from Big Data in good time to allow for decision making. Some
organisations may be lucky enough to have compatible systems and data
environments and as such will be able to create value faster. Companies can
also programme Big Data applications with existing languages such as SQL.
Big Data is going to change the dynamics of
how most departments in organizations will relate. Think of it as the missing
piece of the jigsaw puzzle. Perhaps one of the biggest advantages that will
accrue to businesses which adopt Big Data and analytics would be predictive
analytics. Gaining deeper insights on customer tastes and preferences coupled
with predicting demand more accurately is undoubtedly every business’ headache.
Reducing the expectations gap and gaining a
deeper understanding of consumer needs will lead to segmentation of consumers
and thus produce goods/services that accurately meet consumer needs. The result
is increased sales revenues, reduced costs and an impressive bottom-line for
businesses.
INVESTMENT DECISION:
Boardroom conversations with the C-suite will always ask the return on investment (ROI) question. Will the company’s investment in Big Data and analytics have a positive return? The answer to this question is beyond a shadow of a doubt a resounding yes! Ability to predict demand more accurately, more flexibility on the pricing continuum and even predictive maintenance just to mention a few, has a direct impact on the bottom-line. The issue on ROI does not lie on whether Big Data and analytics are necessary but on how companies will go about the entire process. A data strategy is important to ensure money and time is not lost in creating systems that will not result in a positive ROI.
PRIVACY:
BigData, as the name suggests, uses data to come up with new insights for
companies. A lot of this data is consumer/customer data. Some of this
information may be private and confidential and governed by certain laws.
Particularly, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), that came into
effect on May 25, 2018, and locally the Data Protection Bill 2018 are
enforceable.
Any company storing customer information will be required to seek consent before collecting, processing or storing personal data. The purpose for collecting the data also needs to be clear and for how long it will be stored. Customers will also have the right to be ‘forgotten’ on demand by being permanently deleted from the database.
HUMAN CAPITAL:
Investment
in highly skilled personnel is inevitable. Data scientists, data analysts and
many other occupations within the data field within the country are few and may
not possess all the necessary skills to be able to harness the power of Big
Data and analytics. Companies will need to reskill their current personnel who
handle data and hire more talent.
Also, proper job descriptions need to be developed to capture the scope of work to avoid any confusion of roles. New positions will emerge such as chief data officers, which will change the power dynamics in organizations. Remuneration would need to match industry standards, and benchmarking with companies abroad might be necessary. The value-add of this new personnel is not to be taken lightly.
In conclusion, Big Data and analytics are a game changer and will need many businesses to make open and candid decisions on how they will compete in this ever-changing and dynamic market.
ABOUT US
With 21 years in providing R&D services for leading companies worldwide, TMA Solutions (http://www.tmasolutions.com) has intensive experience and capabilities to bring your products and solutions to a new level by embracing new technologies (big data & analytics, AI, IoT, mobile, cloud, etc.).
TMA Innovation Center (TIC) is TMA R&D arm focusing on collaborating with universities and partners worldwide to foster innovation and build a new generation of products and solutions.
TIC creates an open environment fostering idea & knowledge sharing, R&D collaboration, creativity & innovation, technology transfer and incubation.
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