The clock on the journey to becoming a data-driven enterprise is ticking. McKinsey estimates that by 2025, i.e., just a year from now, most employees will use data to optimize nearly every aspect of their work. Which is great because we all know the benefits of becoming a data-driven business – productivity, profitability, resilience, etc. Data-driven companies are significantly more likely to top their competitors in customer acquisition, stay profitable, and retain customers. Yet, less than a quarter of executives say their companies have created a data-driven organization. So, what’s the snag?
It’s not that we don’t have data. Companies are drowning in structured, unstructured, machine-generated, and human-generated data, and data volumes are rising exponentially. Used well, this data holds immense potential to become a powerhouse of informed decision-making and growth. The real culprits are enterprise data siloes that make it impossible for businesses to evolve from being merely data-rich to truly insight-rich.
The silo syndrome: information blockades in the business body
Data silos in an enterprise are like clogged arteries in a body that threaten survival. Just as blockages in arteries prevent the efficient flow of blood and nutrients throughout the body, data silos obstruct the free flow of information. These silos lead to isolated information, operational incompetence, inaccuracies and outdated information, and data gaps. These starve different parts of an organization of the insights needed for healthy, responsive, and agile operations.
Data trapped in silos is ineffective for everyday decisions and disrupts the ability to have a cohesive, comprehensive view of the organization’s operations and market dynamics. Sure, you can harmonize it and use it to create reports, but often, it’s far too late to do anything of value with it.
For example, a weekly report on the performance of a trade promotion has already lost the retailer opportunities to adjust the campaign for real-time events or personalization needs. Similarly, periodic inventory reports are much less effective than real-time updates in mitigating stockouts and subsequent lost sales.
These silos also create barriers to the seamless integration of internal and external data sources essential for touchless operations. For instance, in supply chain management, data silos can result in a lack of coordination between suppliers, logistics, and inventory systems, causing inefficiencies and delays.
The key to success as a digital business is not just about having tons of data; it’s about making your data work smarter and harder, giving you the insights you need without the usual run-around.
Getting started with unclogging enterprise data
There are several key reasons data silos exist, including:
- Entrenched departmental structures
- Diverse technology platforms
- Cultural barriers within the organization
- Complications emerging from mergers and acquisitions
- A lack of cohesive data strategy
To overcome these challenges and unclog information flow across the business, companies need solutions that can:
Connect internal and external data sources – Picture your data like puzzle pieces scattered across different departments. Businesses need to implement an intelligent layer – a platform – that unifies all this data and makes it available to analyze, interpret, and derive insights. High-speed data integration ensures that data is not only collected but also effectively utilized in real-time, enabling more informed decisions and efficient operations.
Extract and harmonize data – Data today is not only unstructured but descriptive, unpredictable, in multiple languages, and received through different channels. So, the challenge is not only getting access to the data but structuring and formatting it so that it’s usable. Using AI and natural language processing, enterprises can overcome this challenge by extracting structured facts from unstructured documents and textual data.
Make data available for use as and when needed – Creating a data fabric weaves all your different types of data into a single, easy-to-use tapestry. It brings task, work, process, document, and data insights from underlying systems to create a strong network of contextual insights that will continuously feed an enterprise’s processes for real-time accurate decisions.
Companies that manage this transformation have better insights, faster responses to market changes, and move with agility. For instance, a leading FMCG company leveraged an AI-powered automatic data management and classification system to rationalize 10% of vendors and improve data classification accuracy to over 80%. This led to a savings of over 12% in CAPEX/MRO, surpassing their initial target of 6.5%.
Similarly, a global consumer goods conglomerate significantly strengthened its demand planning and reduced manual data acquisition & harmonization efforts by up to 90%. They were able to swiftly onboard over 2,300 partners across 35 countries, giving them access to even more useful insights.
From data-rich to insight-rich
The journey from data-rich to insight-rich is complex but attainable. By breaking down silos, moving beyond point solutions, integrating data at speed, and creating a robust data fabric, enterprises can harness the true power of their data. This transformation is not just about technological advancement but a strategic shift towards a more integrated, efficient, and insightful business model.
EdgeVerve Systems Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys, is a global leader in developing digital platforms, empowering clients to unlock unlimited possibilities in their digital transformation journey. Our purpose is to inspire enterprises with the power of digital platforms, thereby enabling our clients to innovate on business models, drive game-changing efficiency, amplify human potential, and foster a connected ecosystem. Our comprehensive platform portfolio (EdgeVerve’s AI Platform, AssistEdge, XtractEdge, and TradeEdge) across Automation, Document AI, and Supply Chain helps inspire global enterprises to bridge silos in people, processes, data, & technology, discover & automate processes, digitize & structure unstructured data, and unlock the power of the network by integrating value chain partners. With a deep-rooted entrepreneurial culture, EdgeVerve’s innovations are helping global corporations across sectors such as financial services, insurance, retail, consumer and packaged goods, life sciences, manufacturing, telecom, utilities, and more.
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