Preparing your organization for the big data revolution

Big data has now become a term whose meaning and effect is recognized by almost everyone. A concept that dates back to the time when the first open-source databases became available, web traffic grew and more and more options became available in the field of data collection and analysis. And this was about 25 years ago.

Attention to big data is becoming increasingly important, the amount of available data is still growing and AI reinforces this trend. Gartner predicts that by 2024, 60% of AI data will be synthetic, aimed at simulating reality and future scenarios while reducing AI risk, a significant increase from the 1% recorded in 2021.

What steps has your organization already taken in the field of data management? And what steps are needed to continue to use all your data optimally in the future?

Below we outline some key steps that will help you manage big data in the most effective way.

First develop a good strategy

Optimal management and use of big data starts and ends with a solid data strategy. Structuring and managing all your collected data is what you ultimately do to be able to use data for everyday practical needs. Your daily needs in turn depend on the needs of your customers.

In other words, align your current data quality with your data, business and marketing strategy. Describe which data is relevant to you as a company and link it to practical business scenarios. This way you can meet the customer’s needs. Finally, make sure your data strategy takes into account trends such as the need for personalized offers, the growing importance of data privacy and a seamless customer journey.

Get your organisation ready

Once you have a clear idea of what data you want to use, it is time to share the strategy and purpose with your organisation. Work with your organisation to develop the objectives at a detailed level to build support, communicate and align expectations. It is also the time to see whether your organisation has all the resources available to achieve its data objectives. For example, do you have the knowledge in-house, do you have the right data management systems and are they up to date?

Kick off the project

Start the project by cleaning up your current database. Which data fields are unnecessary or duplicated, and which are not relevant to the defined business scenarios? The second step in the project is to determine the gap between the data you have and the data you need. The required data must be included in the data strategy and obtained through a data enrichment campaign.

Plan – Do – Check – Act

No matter how large your database, virtually every organisation will find that there is a gap between the information you require from a customer and the information you possess. This means that you need to enrich your data and expand your database even further. Make sure you implement a standard data cleansing process into your employees’ daily work. The more data, the greater the importance. Finally, be sure to perform weekly checks to see if any new gaps have arisen in the data your business needs about its customers. After all, needs may change from day to day, depending on your desired business activities.

Take your organisation to the next step

With so much data at your disposal, it can be difficult to find structure and relevance in its use. This makes it important to stick to your data strategy when managing big data and always consider the business requirements underlying the acquisition of specific data. Once you have done this well and integrated the process into your daily business operations, it is time to see what new data management tools can do for you and how you can get more out of your relevant and clean data. This way you can be one step ahead of the competition.

Do you need more advice or help setting up your data strategy? Do not hesitate to contact us. Curious about more trends in Data Management? Then request our E-book Here you will find more information about the latest trends and tips and tricks on how to best manage your data.