Is Data Analytics an Underutilized Tool?

Businesses today have more data on hand than ever before. But storing data is only the precursor to getting value out of it. Think of companies’ vast data stores like the ocean, which covers an impressive 97 percent of the Earth’s surface. That’s a lot of water! But to convert this saltwater into something drinkable for humans, you need the tools to desalinate it. Otherwise, you’ll only have “water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink,” as famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner says.

Without the tools to convert all this stored data into a usable form, companies end up investing resources into capturing and storing data—but miss out on the payoff. Data-driven insights have the potential to be immensely valuable when they help employees make better decisions. But expecting employees to wade through the vast ocean of stored data points is unrealistic. So is expecting data specialists alone to find and share relevant insights with the rest of the company.

The best way to maximize the value your organization gets from its data is to implement tools capable of converting it directly into actionable insights, also known as data analytics.

Is Data Analytics an Underutilized Tool?

More enterprises are adopting data analytics technology. But having the tools doesn’t necessarily mean employees are using them. According to Gartner, BI and analytics adoption within an organization still stands around 30 percent of all employees. This means many businesses, though they’ve deployed certain analytics tools, aren’t seeing the full impact because only a small percentage of employees are embracing them.

This leaves a large number of companies unprepared to reap the benefits of data analysis—missing out on the opportunity for better decision making, improved customer service and the ability to monetize their data. All of these organizations want to harness big data, but this is only possible if employees have access to data through tools that allow them to ask questions, get answers and share their findings with colleagues.

When you consider the advantages of using analytics to help monetize data, it seems like a no-brainer. So, what’s holding back organizations from adopting the systems they need to do so? Here are a few challenges to consider: 

  • Scale: Companies want to analyze data, but have huge amounts. Most tools can’t handle today’s data volumes, let alone those of tomorrow. 
  • Cybersecurity: Businesses need a way to keep data safe and provide access only to authorized users. 
  • Governance: Not only do companies struggle with ensure the tools are safe, they also struggle with ensuring the data itself is properly governed. Good governance is a must. 
  • Querying: Can business users ask ad hoc questions and get answers that are both timely and understandable? Or do employees have to depend on IT professionals to act as a go-between? 
  • Visualization/Sharing: Consider any hurdles users must overcome in creating visualization models and sharing their findings with colleagues. 

Fortunately, the most recent generation of data analytics addresses these challenges presented by legacy systems. Today’s data analytics tools like ThoughtSpot aim to make data analytics accessible for all, user-friendly and embeddable in existing workflows—all features that can improve adoption rates. 

Incorporating Data Analytics into Company Culture

Implementing the technology to handle data analysis is the first step. But there’s also the matter of creating a company culture hospitable to data. Put it this way: If people aren’t on board, the technology is only going to end up sitting underutilized in the background.

As CIO writes, “Business leadership needs to accept responsibility to treat data and analytics as corporate assets to be maximized and exploited, instead of treating data as someone else’s (IT’s) problem.”

Stop treating data like it’s the exclusive domain of IT. Get leadership on board early. Incentivize people throughout your organization to incorporate data analytics into their regular workflows.

Is data analytics an underutilized tool? Yes—until adoption rates are 100 percent. But your organization can absolutely harness the tools it needs to derive value from stored data.