The key success factors in setting up a data analytics organization

In a world of growing data analytics, many companies have embarked on a data-centric organization to create a competitive advantage. The expected benefits are numerous. These include reducing costs, improving decision-making and maximizing value to the customer. However, the challenges of implementing a data analytics approach are significant. Indeed, this approach can not be reduced to a simple IT project. Rather, it is an initiative affecting the overall organization of businesses.

The 6 key success factors

According to a study conducted by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), 6 key success factors have been identified in setting up such an organization:

  • Leaders leading by example. By supporting a data-driven culture, leaders are improving their ability to make the right business decisions.
  • Strategies to make effective use of new emerging technologies. Faced with the development of artificial intelligence, it seems essential to be proactive. In this way, companies will be able to increase their ability to predict future trends. Thus they will convert raw data into useful insights to improve their performance.
  • The key role of internal and external data collection and processing. In order to fully exploit the potential of data analysis, both internal and external data must be relied on. Nearly half of the companies surveyed only use their internally generated data.
  • Incentives for employees to integrate data analysis into their daily lives. These can be monetary or take other forms. Only half of the companies surveyed say they use these incentives.
  • Adequate and sufficient resources. The main obstacles are the difficulty of finding the right profiles, the available budget and other operational priorities.
  • A clear definition of responsibility for data analytics. Several departments can share responsibility in this area (most often Finance and IT). Companies that see data analytics as a source of competitive advantage are more likely to dedicate resources to it.

The 5 key questions

In a nutshell, companies with a culture of data analytics appear to be more effective in their key business processes. When a company engages in the implementation of this approach, it may ask the following questions:

  • Do leaders lead by example in promoting a data-centric culture?
  • Does the company have a strategy to make effective use of available and emerging technologies?
  • Does the company strive to collect and process both internal and external data to support the data analysis process?
  • Is it willing to motivate employees to adopt this approach through incentives?
  • Is it ready to mobilize the appropriate level of resources?

A significant number of positive responses to the above questions reflect a high probability of success in setting up a data-centric organization. Conversely, negative responses induce possible resistance to change, resistances on which the company will have to work.

With this in mind, we can assist you in this transition through an audit of your current organization. This contractual audit will then contribute to strengthen your competitiveness. Then we could provide you with dashboards to help you monitor your KPIs.

Find the complete study to download.