As the volume of data keeps increasing, so is the investment from business owners that see tremendous potential in data analytics and wish to leverage it to gain a competitive advantage. Today, the business analytics software market is growing rapidly, and insights from the Allied Market Research firm tell us that the market is on pace to cross $85 billion, growing at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2020 to 2023!
A constant need to differentiate the business from the industry peers and demand for cloud-based data analytics and visualization platforms amongst various small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has driven the rapid growth of the big data and analytics market. The rise of social media and customer sentiment analysis has further expanded the use cases of data visualization tools and business owners constantly trying to leverage them to make informed decisions.
Different industry verticals such as manufacturing, healthcare, construction, media, utilities, telecommunications, etc., are constantly pursuing new opportunities to optimize business processes and enhance employee productivity. As a business analyst with over a decade in product development and business trends, I wanted to highlight the key benefits of investing in data analytics and how business owners can fully exploit the potential of the vast technology.
A. Incorrect Data Leads to Revenue Loss
A survey done by KPMG in 2016 highlighted that 64% of top CEOs were afraid to make crucial decisions based on data-driven insights. Incorrect data often lead to wrong choices and revenue loss. Take data analytics for insurance as an example; people often hear stakeholders stress how important it is to analyze the data and unlock patterns to identify fraudulent claims effectively. Today the insurance fraud detection market is worth more than $10 billion. It is based on collecting data and advanced algorithms that accurately detect cases with a high probability of insurance fraud, thereby saving billions of dollars every year.
B. Provide a Personalized Customer Experience
Retaining a customer in today’s competitive market is perhaps the most significant enabler of a successful business. Most stakeholders aim to provide a unique experience to their customers and cater to their needs. Data analysis can help take this to the next level by unlocking the customer’s buying habits, social behavior and offer them services and products that they are seeking. By leveraging data visualization tools, users can easily create impressive reports and showcase insights from the behavior analysis to facilitate informed decision-making and personalized CX.
C. Identify Operational Stop-gaps
Perhaps the most common reason business owners are investing in data analytics is to address operations stop-gaps that lead to a loss in employee productivity, delay in deliveries, and a considerable failure in revenue. Planning and forecasting play a vital role in critical business decisions. Having a good team of experts that can leverage the power of data visualization software enables the stakeholders to accurately predict, plan, and execute decisions that lead to the business’s success.
D. Gain Competitive Advantage
Per market research published by Gartner, more than 75% of large-scale healthcare businesses have deployed analytics in some form, further showcasing how data analytics for healthcare will be the differentiating factor in a highly competitive industry. If your business stakeholders are not leveraging data analytics tools to extract hidden insights, then the chances of gaining a critical competitive advantage over your industry peers decrease massively. Implementing a data-driven decision-making approach has become imperative. It can have a lasting impact on the work culture, employee satisfaction, and business revenue in the short and long term.
