MEMBER NEWS
Laying the foundations of a data-driven business
Stuart Gibbons OBE
business innovation and the Leicestershire economy. “I am absolutely delighted to
have received this award for work that I love to do, and heartily believe in,” she said. “I am especially pleased that the award is for services to business innovation and the economy, which I am so passionate about.” Dr Moore, who founded Rainbows with former wife Gail in 1994 after their daughter Laura died of leukaemia five years earlier, was also awarded an MBE for services to young people and charity. He admitted to feeling “humbled”, adding: “My message about Rainbows has always been about the people rather than the facilities.” Glynis Wright was awarded her
MBE for her services to furthering the cause of female entrepreneurship, having retrained as a lawyer aged 40 and subsequently set up her own award-winning law firm, Glynis Wright & Co, in 2011. Meanwhile, Stuart Gibbons,
joint managing director of Chamber member Le Mark Group, an international, family- run tape and label manufacturer based in Cambridgeshire, received an OBE for services to international trade. The Department of Trade
export champion said: “I’ve been privileged to work on successful projects with talented people at Le Mark and around the world. I’ll continue to support British exporting companies wherever and whenever I can.”
Becoming a data-driven business gives you the ability to make more informed business decisions. But what exactly does this mean? Kenneth Neilson (pictured), managing director of Chesterfield-based data science and analytics consultancy Peak Indicators, gives his take.
For many leaders, it’s hard to view their entire business holistically and use past trends to predict future decisions. Reports are intermittent, specific to a particular department and compiled by a human - with human error and human bias. Data-driven businesses glean insights by using
reliable, historical data. They create a shared set of metrics and a clear understanding of where to improve processes, by bringing together disparate data sources from across the company. And they can trust that the data they’re seeing is high quality and accurate. After all, the data is already there, it’s just
not driving value for your business. So what are the foundations you need to lay to adopt this way of working?
BUILDING A SOLID, TECHNICAL FOUNDATION Becoming data-driven is a process and
there are certain steps you can’t skip over. Historically, cost was the biggest barrier of entry, especially to SMEs. It’s not only the hardware and software – they also needed to employ specialists to analyse and manage data.
‘Improving data quality often needs an investment in the source systems’ Cloud computing has reduced that cost considerably.
Businesses no longer need to set aside a room full of expensive kit that only a handful of people can use. Similarly, managed service companies like Peak
Indicators can be engaged to provide specialist help when needed. In the past, most companies required more expensive end-to-end support. Data quality remains important. Businesses looking
to analyse trends over time need a complete, coherent and robust data set, as well as clear governance procedures to produce reliable, unbiased and valid outcomes. There’s no magic wand for this. Improving data
quality often needs an investment in the source systems – collating disparate data and improving data entry
processes. This pays off through improved insights and making reporting easier and less time-consuming.
PREPARING YOUR BUSINESS FOR A NEW WAY OF WORKING A strong cultural foundation for a data-driven business is harder to define. While all companies need good data quality to get going, achieving user adoption and creating a solution that works for everyone is a challenge unique to each business. It is important to answer these questions on day one. What solution do you want to build? How do end-users want to use the data and interact with it? The first question to ask any business
leader is “what is your end goal?” A clearly defined objective is crucial. Instead of shoehorning the business into what the
technology can offer, the technology should be moulded to what the business needs.
Engaging users from the start significantly boosts
the chances of success. Collaborating early ensures a fuller understanding of what the business needs and how best to get results that are right for everyone. Businesses of all sizes have the ability to make better
informed, data-driven decisions, and gain competitive advantage. A solid foundation makes it possible to build solutions that empower users, unite businesses in a shared goal and use data to drive value.
Peak Indicators has announced plans to create 50 jobs over the next three years as it embarks on an ambitious growth journey. The company – whose clients include HSBC,
AstraZeneca, Legal & General, Schneider Electric and GO Outdoors – wants to expand into new industries such as the public sector for its machine learning and AI consultancy services. As part of this expansion, it is developing the next
generation of data science and AI experts through its graduate and apprenticeship schemes, and is currently hiring for a graduate business consultant.
business network February 2021
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