Data and analytics informed transformation

The coronavirus imperative has created a need for rapid innovation. Although right now executives minds are on weathering the storm, the crisis has brought forward the innovation and transformation plans of many companies who now see a more urgent need to establish themselves as digital leader in their sector.

It is a strong catalyst for change. What was a someday nice to have, could now create and widen a gap between your organisation and others that have stronger, or weaker, digital capabilities.

Although it can seem daunting, this is an opportunity to look at what matters most in your business, where you need to position, and what your digital capability needs to look like to create an advantage. This can be done using data and analytics to derive valuable, actionable insights from both inside and external to your organisation. This gives clarity on where internal operational efficiencies can be implemented, and also where new opportunities that play best to your strengths may exist. Clear insights will help you understand where you are comparatively weak or strong, and plan for the best way to bridge the gap and build the right digital capabilities.

Data informs transformation and identifies the way in which you can add long term, repeatable, sustainable value.

Transforming without a clear road map of change that addresses key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is expensive, is very disruptive to BAU, and is not at all desirable in the emergency situation we find ourselves in.

Data analytics answers the following big transformation questions:

• What do our customers see in us?
• What do we want our customers to see in us (what do we want to be famous for)?
• What technologies will we need to create this value?
• What should my business and technology teams look like?
• How should my business and technology teams interact?
• What business problems can technology solve?
• How much are those solutions worth versus what we will gain?
• What kind of people do we need?
• What kind of resourcing and partnerships do we need?
• How will we measure our effectiveness internally and externally?
• Where is the customer value and how will we maximise it coherently across parts of the company?
• Where is the waste internally and how will we use our resources more effectively?

Getting the answers to the questions gives us our transformation goals and strategy. It also yields the next wave of questions about how we actually set up for it … and the answers to those questions get us to our transformation road map.

Think of your data like your Garmin. It helps you get to where you want to be, and helps you avoid getting stuck! Most importantly it gives the confidence to start the journey NOW.