Data Drives Better Business Process Outcomes – if you can Trust it!
Data is a business outcome enabler, a process foundation and an asset under our responsibility, not a technical problem. “It is everyone’s business. It IS the business”.
But there is a cruel irony.
Whilst we are investing heavily in AI, which is itself massively dependent on data quality, we are not prioritizing the very data quality and integrity initiatives that will make AI successful.
The quality and integrity of our data remains woeful.
Of course, some will argue that we can delegate AI to fix our data.
Truth is, AI can help, but not alone. Human decisions are required.
Finding data issues is one thing (and AI can help) but understanding the “WHY?” of the state of the data is equally important in order to make decisions to improve business performance and fix root causes.
There is plenty of clearly ambiguous and inconsistent data. But the decision on what to do about it is not always so obvious.
- There are genuine errors that can be fixed, as well as root causes to be found and fixed also.
- There are also multiple variations of the same data for different purposes, which whilst sub-optimal, is often understandable in-context and important in many situations. These issues take some diagnosis, discussion and human decision making.
Around two-thirds of business leaders surveyed said they believe no one within their organization understands their data and that key decisions are made based on inaccurate or inconsistent data.
Nearly 75% blame poor prioritization and resource allocation for the disconnect.
Lindsey Wilkinson’s article in CIO magazine, “Bad Data Leads to Bad Outcomes”, resonated on this topic.
“Strengthening data governance and processes is especially critical as businesses look to add AI agents to their tech stacks this year. CIOs know their businesses can’t reach AI ambitions without a solid data foundation”
Rob Walker in Management Today asserts that “poor data can cost organisations millions of pounds and have huge reputational repercussions”.
“Research by firms, such as Gartner and Forrester, shows that poor data quality can cost organisations between 20–35% of their operating revenue, limiting intelligent decision-making and operational efficiency. To address this challenge, organisations should prioritise enhancing data trust to drive business performance.”
There is strategic value in data, and businesses should invest in people, processes and technologies to ensure its integrity and business value.
If it is so obvious, why is it not happening?
I would argue that it often seems like a massive “boiling the ocean” undertaking.
It does not need to be.
Focus on data in the context of end-to-end business cycles (revenue (D2C/O2C, spend (S2P/P2P), manufacturing (P2M) etc).
With this perspective you can make rapid progress and deliver clear business value, measured in the currency of your choice. In short cycles!
And pave the way for the effective application of AI !
Thanks for reading . . .
Data Drives Better Business Process Outcomes – if you can Trust it!