The Basis of Data Value: Using Data Effectively

Companies today know that data is a highly valuable asset, and they are becoming increasingly effective at handling data. The value of data comes from a variety of factors, including the ease with which it can be accessed. Data’s core value, however, comes from its use.

The same data may have different value to two different institutions, even two in the same industry, depending on how they can use it. If one organization can use information to make better business decisions, that information is highly valuable. Another company, however, may not be able to put that information to strategic use, thus lowering its value. In order to increase the value of their data, companies must work to make their data more usable.

The Complications in Accessing Data

One of the keys to making data useful is making it easy to access. Unfortunately, business analysts can often find it difficult to access data efficiently when many company departments are involved. In most organizations, an IT group controls information. IT usually has its own backlog of projects, making it difficult for them to keep up with external demands for data.

More complications can come from application developers, who rarely have the right tools to facilitate easy access to data. Although they attempt to create applications to help, their applications may not integrate properly with the right data. They may even require help from IT, which can strain an already busy department.

Self-service IT may sound like a good solution, as it grants data access directly to business users and reduces IT’s workload. However, it can be difficult for IT to create self-service tools while simultaneously monitoring data access, security, and quality.

The Solution: Cloud-Based Data

A cloud data system is the key to making data accessible and usable to meet today’s business demands. A cloud-based data system makes data available at any time and from any place, whenever it is needed for business analysis or daily business operations. Data refinement processes raw data into actionable information, making data more useful (and more valuable).

A 2014 study by the IBM Center for Applied Insights found that Generation D organizations, or organizations that use a high concentration of data and are analytically driven, have a stronger performance in efficient operations, risk management, and the development of new revenue streams. This shows that efficient data use is highly effective in improving business operations.

IBM DataWorks: Cloud-Based Data Refinement

IBM DataWorks™ is a new data refinery program that offers data refinement and cloud-based data access services. These services can be built directly into any cloud computing application, so that they will not slow down delivery cycles. They are also available as application programming interfaces (APIs), which developers can use to enhance the usability of data through their applications. These applications will benefit business end users, who will be able to access clean data quickly without going through complicated processes. The refinement services align data with standards, filter data from inconsistent sources, and protect personally identifiable information.

Contact NewIntelligence today to find out more about how to make your data highly useful and deliver great value to your organization.

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published.