Big Data, on Its Own, Is Just Noise.
Do you seek to make sense of all the data you receive globally? Want to understand what to do with it and how to use it? The data that comes from your enterprise use of technology which includes mobile phones, M2M, SaaS, GPS, VPN access, landlines and so much more. It is great to have access to all of this data, but it is not so great to actually know what to do with it and make sure you can reap the benefits from all that stored data. Big Data, on its own, is noise. Until this noise starts being cleverly orchestrated in reports and paired with action. Actionable Data Analytics is what enterprises use to find new operational efficiencies and reduce costs.
What are Actionable Data Analytics?
At the core, actionable data analytics provide a host of useful data that shape better technology decisions. It’s a process that takes all kinds of information – long-distance, voice, GPS data, logins, usage, and so on – and mathematically digs out vital trends. These trends are then put into a format that helps in deciding what a company needs to do in the coming months and years to make better use of their investment in technology!
Of course, that’s the high-level take – there’s a deeper breakdown of steps that needs to be done. Actionable data analytics incorporates comparative analysis in many dimensions.
The business intelligence provided through actionable data analytics help enterprises:
- Discover unused services
- Spot billing discrepancies
- Identify new saving opportunities
- Monitor usage and logins
- Access comparative benchmarking data
- Compare usage with industry data
- Provide a centralized service catalogue
And, to make all of this really useful, a good analytics system would put all of these information flows together and display it in a report that you can configure without incurring extra charges.
How is All This Achieved?
To begin, there needs to be a (software) system in place that combines all the data in a company. Just right now, the simple fact of the matter is that there is a lot of data that is unnoticed and untouched inside every company. All this data tells important stories about each company’s technology usage. But the stories are often overlooked. Which is a shame, because it would be simple to put the pooled data together to get a better total picture of the patterns in the data. You need the right tool and the conviction to do it!
Beyond that, the more forward-looking would also invest the time and effort to share the information within an organization to find operational efficiencies at all levels. By combining information across an organization, business units equip with the right information can now take better decision for cost savings at their level.
Now, why should we go through all this in the first place?
Here are the Benefits of Actionable Data Analytics!
Improved response times:
Waiting on reports – either annual or even quarterly – before acting makes you reactive instead of pro-active. It won’t just be that your company moves slower as a result; the more important part is that you’ll miss out on many opportunities to be ahead of the game. Proper use of big data means that you can respond to critical events as they happen in real time!
Work smarter through better benchmarking:
It’s crucial to know how well you’re doing, both on in absolute terms (i.e., “Are we profitable? Are we growing?”), and in terms of basic efficiencies (i.e., average spend, inventory accuracy, usage trends, etc.). Analytics will let you know how you perform on all these measures at a glance in comparison to other business units! One approach to work smarter is to know if what you’re doing is best of class in the first place!
In-house “consulting”:
Learning the nature of popular devices and how they’re used, will provide a better idea of global costs per user, and what to expect when developing budgets or devising security measures. You’ll also be able to figure out how you’re doing among your peers. After all, you don’t know if you’re a leader or just trying to catch up without this knowledge. What you should also know is that this is the type of information that you’d usually have to pay extra to outside consultants to get. Now, imagine if you could save a portion of that cost and still react in real-time?
Actionable Data Analytics is a foundational pillar for Technology Expense Management. Organizations around the world can manage their enterprise digital footprint. Upland can help organizations save money, time and accurately manage their inventory.
