Consolidate – Illuminate – Elevate: Modern Data Enablement

The competitive landscape in business has changed dramatically over the past decade with the advent of modern data technologies. Many companies want to enhance their competitive edge by leveraging these tools with the goal of becoming “data driven.”  The challenge faced when starting on this path is that they have not yet begun to take control of their data.   

The journey is much like building a pyramid, with the capstone being data driven decision making. At the top of Egyptian pyramids, capstones covered in precious metals were placed to reflect the sun's rays.   Although the capstone of the Great Pyramid at Giza has been lost in time, the capstone of a nearby satellite pyramids was recovered.  This capstone has a square base with sides measuring 5.4 feet and a height of 3.4 feet.  The pyramid that supported this capstone had a base measuring 150 feet on each side, with a height of 97 feet.  This means, proportionally, the capstone makes up 0.0045% of the volume of the structure.  

To truly become data-driven, one must take steps to build the pyramid. There are three phases to place the capstone: Consolidate, Illuminate, and Elevate.  

Consolidate 

Most organizations leverage technology tools to run their business.  Every quote, invoice, and interaction are meticulously logged into a myriad of solutions.  These digitized activities live in their own silo, at rest, inside of its home application. The true value of the data is not realized until those silos are broken.  This is the act of data consolidation.   

Much like building the base of the pyramid, this effort is large, and complex. Also, it is frequently unrecognized as an immediate value-add within an organization because it truly is groundwork.  There are many consolidation options, with the common choices being Data Lakes and Data Warehouses.  The choice depends on the organization's needs and the plans for what lies at the top of the pyramid. 

Consolidation creates an opportunity to bring in data from outside the organization.  This could be any data that impacts trends in a business, such as market, commodity, or climate.  Data can be purchased or sometimes found in free public datasets.  External data will further enable intense illumination of the competitive landscape.  

Because of what consolidation supports, it is necessary that the choice of technology be easily supported by the organization. The technology must also be conducive to change and reliable in its processing. 

Illuminate 

With the silos broken down, at this point the data can be rationalized and mixed to create valuable information. Business rules and data quality checks are applied, and business intelligence tools are used to measure the organization's success through metrics and KPIs.  The ability now exists to take what has happened and understand it holistically.   

In many cases, this is where the value of a Data Program starts to shine; people begin to understand where there is success or failure and shed light upon an organization's operational effectiveness.  Most organizations begin this phase with “canned” or “push” reports, allowing them to view and compare the current situation with a previous period.  

Current best practices point towards interactive dashboarding and data visualization, allowing for consistent interpretation of information across the enterprise. Many businesses struggle to make the shift from push reports to interactive dashboards. Still, the efficiency gained from using dashboards and data visualization is well documented in case studies.  

Elevate 

With an illuminated understanding of what has happened, there now exists the opportunity to both predict what will happen, and prescribe actions be taken by the organization to improve outcomes. This is the capstone of the pyramid.  

Although the work required to get here is substantial, organizations leveraging advanced analytical tools like machine learning and artificial intelligence are gaining tremendous efficiency and insight.  Examples of these types of tools cross many industries and include route optimization, lane assistance, disease diagnosis, drug discovery, predictive maintenance, fraud detection, and inventory management.   

Not an All-or-Nothing Proposition 

Right now, many organizations are hungry to Elevate. They hear news about AI and wonder how they can immediately leverage this in their business. Although low-hanging fruit exists, the greatest competitive advantage comes from building your own pyramid. This process is challenging, and many organizations believe it is out of reach.  The truth is that data enablement tools and practices are becoming more accessible to adopt in cost-effective ways for organizations of any size.   

By leveraging the right approach, the building blocks can fall into place quickly and with ease. Unlike ancient pyramids, each and every stone doesn't need to be laid to reach one capstone. Instead, there are many paths to elevated value when focused on key, individual use cases. If an organization has existing strengths, lean into it. Use that footing to lay the framework for their pyramid. With the goal known, building backward allows an organization to start small, then grow as value is realized.   

Ancient Philosopher Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”  Likewise, building a pyramid begins with laying the first stone.  Be enabled to place the first block and understand that through Consolidation, Illumination, and Elevation, any organization can be a leader in today's competitive landscape.