Why data and analytics can protect and create immense value?

The situation

Every decision starts with data, whether quantitative and/or qualitative, information is created that builds into intelligence. Intelligence leads to decisions that can make or lose companies millions. The speed and accuracy of intelligence for those decisions is changing in the market with new start-ups embracing AI to drive to faster and more reliable intelligence, even utilizing decision making algorithms to remove a large majority of human interaction between initial data creation and decision.

The challenge

The major obstacle faced in companies that have been operating in their markets for a number of years is where to start. Typically, many will start with their dashboard and reporting, but this is not usually the area that will create the most value.

Are you falling behind your competition due to stagnation of your data strategy?

What do the experts say?

Gartner states…

That “fewer than 50% of documented corporate strategies mention Data & Analytics” as key components for delivering enterprise value, yet executives perceive information as a critical asset:

  • Increasingly, leading and thriving organizations in every segment are wielding data and analytics as a competitive weapon, operational accelerant and innovation catalyst.
  • Even organizations rapidly digitally manoeuvring to become data-driven remain inhibited by outdated notions that information doesn’t need managing to the same degree as traditional balance sheet assets.

As the role of the Chief Data Officer takes hold, gaining authority and influence on a par with other executives, we expect to see organizational shifts.

KPMG believes

Believes that utilising data and analytics, to drive new growth, is imperative to as:

  • Increased volumes of data give you the opportunity to finds new insight if you know what to do with it.
  • Few businesses have the right insights or confidence in their data to make reliable or even well informed decisions.

CASE STUDY – ANT FINANCIALS SERVICES

From its inception in 1999 Alibaba did not truly evolve into a worldwide success until it decided to “foster the development of an open, coordinated, prosperous e-commerce ecosystem” in 2007.

Alibaba attributes its success, in large part, to “greater capabilities in network co-ordination and data intelligence”, which Ming Zeng titled in the Harvard Business Review as “Smart Business”.  Utilising the Smart Business methodology, Alibaba founded Ant Financial Services in 2012, an SME loans business that has grown to a market capitalisation of $150 billion in just 7 years; bigger than Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs combined.

Ant uses that data to compare good borrowers (those who repay on time) with bad ones (those who do not) to isolate traits common in both groups.  Alibaba’s data scientists are essential to identifying and testing which data points provide the insights they seek and then engineering algorithms to mine the data.  As the re-calibrated algorithms produce increasingly accurate predictions, Ant’s risk and costs steadily decrease.  All of this with only 1/10th the employees of other financial services companies.