Author: Dinesh Harikrishnan

Dinesh is a results-driven sales leader with a proven track record of scaling revenue, building high-performance teams, and forging strong client relationships. As our VP of Sales, he brings deep industry expertise, a strategic mindset, and a passion for driving growth through innovative, customer-focused solutions.

5 Facts You Need To Know About Data & Data-Driven Decision Making

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Data-driven decision-making (DDDM) is the process of using insights drawn from data to aid the process of decision making in an organization.

In as early as 2016, a survey by PwC revealed that data-driven organizations are three times more likely to experience significant improvements in the decision-making process when compared to those that don’t. According to the same survey, data-driven decision making brings together the right combination of “mind and machine”.

If you haven’t yet embraced data in the way you should for decision making, here are some reasons why you should:

Every organization collects data in some way or the other

Believe it or not, your ops staff are spending 2-3 hours a day collecting data of some kind. In most cases, the data simply goes into a folder, for reporting or record-keeping. In fact, almost 54% of the data collected by a company goes “dark” or unused. Why not leverage it instead? By putting your data to work, you will be amazed at how much it can help you improve your operational efficiency and fuel your business growth!

Start with the data you are already collecting to use in decision making and you can gradually expand your databases depending on the need.

Data can help you make informed, unbiased decisions

Usually, the process of decision making is highly influenced by preconceived notions, suggestions of superiors, our own intuitions, and your team’s past experiences. While MIT and Harvard experts agree that intuition cannot be neglected altogether (for in some ways, even intuition is data-driven), relying on data means that your decision eliminates bias and is backed up by hard facts. Reducing the effect of bias in decision making can help you achieve up to 7% higher returns (McKinsey). Your only challenge here is to ensure that the data you collect is accurate and without errors – a problem that can be solved by using automation instead of manual methods.

As long as your data is authentic, you can be assured that it will make a difference to your bottom line.

Data helps you learn from the past and make predictions for the future

The power of data is that it can not only be used to study historical trends for decision making, but also to build futuristic predictions with the right tools. While it is true that we cannot foresee the future, it is possible to make near-perfect estimations using predictive and prescriptive analytics.

Leverage the right technology to auto-generate data-driven insights through easy-to-understand graphical representations in intuitive dashboards.

DDDM contributes to increased productivity and profitability

The Wall Street Journal records an MIT study that proved primarily data-driven benefited from 4% higher productivity as well as 6% higher profits. If you do not collect enough within your organization to use for decision making, opt for big data resources. According to studies by BARC, big data can help increase profit by 8–10% and ensure an overall cost reduction of up to 10%.

In short, the effectiveness of using data in decision making is time-tested and proven.

DDDM can be used to enhance multiple areas of your business

From zeroing in on cost-effective measures for different processes to identifying the right channels for marketing your new product with maximum ROI, and enhancing turnaround time for customer service – data-driven decision making can be utilized to improve all areas of your business.

We recommend that you begin with internal processes, such as reviewing employee productivity based on the number of working hours and then branch out to other areas gradually.

Getting Started with Data-driven Decision Making

  1. Find out what data you already collect, identify ways to incorporate it into your decision-making process
  2. Assess your data collection methods, improve it using automation technology to reduce time taken for collection, improve accuracy of data, and effectiveness of the overall process
  3. Use a data integration tool to bring all your collected data to one common platform in a readily usable format and maintain a master repository for easy access
  4. Incorporate business intelligence and use intuitive dashboards to make data analysis and visualization a hassle-free step in the process.

At CloudNow, we offer automation, data integration, data analysis. intuitive dashboards and much more for data-driven decision making through a holistic Business Continuity and Operational Resilience (BCOR) solution. To make the most of your data today, get in touch with us now!

Password Spray Attacks: What Are They & How To Avoid Them?

Ever wondered why organizations emphasize the importance of setting a complicated password as opposed to something convenient like ‘password123’? In today’s world, hackers are getting creative with their cybersecurity attacks. One type of attack that has gained a lot of traction in the past year is ‘password spraying’ – a type of brute force attack in the cybersecurity realm that goes beyond the traditional forms of hacking into an account. 

Picture this – in the past, hackers would attempt to gain unauthorized access to a single account by constantly guessing the password in a short period of time. But with organizations bringing measures such as locking an account when three or more attempts have been made, the user gets notified about any attempted security breach.  Continue reading Password Spray Attacks: What Are They & How To Avoid Them?

Navigating the World of Data Security in the Cloud: Steps to Ensure Compliance

Compliance ensures that an enterprise maintains a minimum standard of security-related requirements in accordance with industry and regulatory standards. Its scope, however, goes beyond having regulations in place, to successfully implementing policies and contracts.

As security breaches, fraud, and theft of data are becoming increasingly widespread in the IT world, industry guidelines for compliance have become more complex, and enterprise policies more elaborate. Adding to the difficulty of achieving security compliance is the limited functionality of network security tools in dealing with the dynamic nature of the cloud. Continue reading Navigating the World of Data Security in the Cloud: Steps to Ensure Compliance

5 Identity Governance & Administration Mistakes You Should Avoid

Identity governance and administration (IGA) is the policy-based implementation of user identity and access to ensure security and compliance across the IT environment. In IGA, the first step is to remain aware of risks and then follow the best possible practices to mitigate them by improving visibility and accountability. Continue reading 5 Identity Governance & Administration Mistakes You Should Avoid

Why an IAM solution is a Crucial Investment for Financial Services Organizations

Today, migrating to the cloud is a crucial stage in a financial enterprise’s growth and development. It is, quite simply, the most efficient way of running operations. With this in mind, financial services organizations are investing significant resources in cloud-based technologies, including infrastructure, platform, and software as a service. Continue reading Why an IAM solution is a Crucial Investment for Financial Services Organizations

Security or Functionality? Security Risks with Digital Transformation

Digital transformation has been adopted by most companies from around the world, resulting in a more connected and innovative business environment. Today, digital transformation essentially involves an organization’s adoption of IoT, cloud computing, machine learning, and AI.  Continue reading Security or Functionality? Security Risks with Digital Transformation

How Technology Can Simplify IT Security

Just last year, the popular Q&A site Quora suffered a data breach, as reported by Techworld in their article on UK’s most infamous data breaches. This just goes to show that even the best of businesses are finding it a challenge to secure their data and vital business information in this age of digital advancements.

IT security is, no doubt, an overwhelming, daunting, and expensive task. With cybercriminals getting more advanced and sophisticated, organizations are struggling to find security solutions that will effectively counter them. Continue reading How Technology Can Simplify IT Security

Enforce Device-based Restrictions with Akku

One of the biggest benefits of cloud computing is the level of accessibility it enables – from anywhere, and at any time. However, it is important to set up certain restrictions in order to protect your sensitive applications and privileged user accounts from being compromised.

One such important security measure involves setting up a device policy within your organization. Continue reading Enforce Device-based Restrictions with Akku

Overcoming the Challenges of the Media Industry With Identity

When the digital revolution started, media companies were among the first ones to embrace it. Today, most media companies create content targeted exclusively at online subscribers on digital platforms, pivoting their efforts to become more user-friendly for a digital audience. 

In order to convert free digital users into paid users, it is also important to effectively profile them and target the right ads to the right users. Therefore, it becomes crucial to learn more about the users logging in to view media content – whether on an online magazine or a video streaming platform. At the same time, user information that is collected online needs to be safeguarded and the methods used for data handling must adhere to strict regulations. Continue reading Overcoming the Challenges of the Media Industry With Identity

Security vs. Usability

Security vs. usability – the debate has been around for quite a while now. Which one would you prioritize? Would you consider convenience more important than security when it comes to the identity management of consumers? What are your users more inclined to? Is there a way to find a balance between the two? Continue reading Security vs. Usability