Understanding that data is essential and can be used to generate value for organisations is crucial in making better use of it. However, organisations still underestimate data’s true value.
They are aware they have the data and that it is valuable, but they are unaware of the consequences if they lose it all, if it is manipulated, if a data breach happens, how to handle data, analyse it and report on it. The awareness that data is playing an ever important role in helping organisations remain competitive in an increasingly digital environment is, however, starting to sink in. In recent years, data has become a key topic of conversation in the boardroom of many organisations and is gradually taking over the driver’s seat.
Data management is the process of storing, organising and maintaining the data created and collected by an organisation. When businesses generate and consume data at exponential rates, data management solutions become increasingly important for analysing and reporting on massive amounts of data.
In today's modern world, data is collected from a variety of sources and processed in organisations. IoT technologies, intranet services, sensors, space & workplace, visitor and cleaning management tools, service request system, quality monitoring systems are all possibilities. The most important thing to remember is the importance of data is not determined by its source, format, or consistency. It all depends on how you handle and manage the data as a whole. Recognising the importance of data and how it can add value for organisations is a vital first step on the path to improved data usage. An organisation’s data is used by many people. How will the organisation secure its data from being fragmented and dispersed? In order to prevent that, it needs to get the basics right in three areas: Data integration, Data Governance and Data Literacy. To gain more insight into the importance of getting the basics in place first when improving your data management, download the free Guidance Note from IWFM - ‘Harness the power of data’.
For many organisations data is undoubtedly the most underutilised asset and they still have a long way to go in the areas of data collection and analysis. During the IWFM research, one senior leader, while describing his own organisation, pointed out that 'We're data-rich, knowledge poor.'
Getting insights and creating true value from the data will help you improve your market intelligence and contribute significantly to your company's success. What is the reason for this? Overall, data is only valuable if it assists an organisation in making informed decisions. Your company may have the world's biggest data pile, but it's worthless unless you can turn it into meaningful knowledge. Gaining successful insights means extracting what you want from your data and finding out its value.
Organisations should spend less time considering how much data they have, where it came from, and how they can use it. Instead, you can start by determining where your company could add more value than its competitors or perform as good as or even better than its peers and determine what data assets you'll need to achieve this goal.
Effective data management has become increasingly important in recent years since organisations are subject to a growing number of compliancy regulations, significant increases in information storage capacity, and the immense volume of data and documents produced by their day to day activities. As explained in the aforementioned Guidance Note, improving an organisation's data usage and data management can unlock various opportunities and capabilities such as:
Do you want to understand how an integrated workplace management system (IWMS) can help you to leverage the hidden data treasures in your organisation and get practical guidance on using data in an increasingly digital world?
Watch our webinar and find out if your data is making your car run smoothly.
