Adopting Data Analytics

BDO’s approach is built on four simple steps that will help you create a single dashboard view linked to your strategic goals.

Step 1 – Establish Strategic Data Analytics Purpose

Having a clear purpose before starting any big data analytics project is perhaps the most important step, which is why it must come first. We use two factors to understanding the purpose – and the extent to which it’s needed from an organisational perspective:

1. Market dynamics (external) – how do market factors such as the level of innovation, change and competition affect your business?
2. Business growth strategy (internal) – how aggressive is your business growth strategy?

What’s the driver behind your data strategy?

Step 2 – Assess Organisational Data Maturity 

How mature is your organisation when it comes to using data to inform decisions and drive change?  Understanding your current capability to access, interrogate and derive value from your data will determine the starting point on your path become a data driven organisation.

Defining what your data maturity is today vs where it needs to be to drive business change will help determine the level of investment you need to make in data analytics

Step 3 – Develop a Data Analytics Implementation Roadmap

The next step is to develop a Data Analytics Implementation Roadmap based on the outcomes of the assessment conducted in Step 1 and Step 2. Here’s an example:

Benefits of a staged approach

We recommend a staged approach starting with a well-defined pilot project. Subsequent projects can be added as benefits are realised and embedded into your organisation. Taking a staged approach strikes a balance between doing nothing (not realising a return on the investment on data analytics) and doing too much at once (increasing the likelihood of maximising the benefits of any future technology upgrades and transformation projects). It’s cost effective and benefits can be realised even without a technology upgrade.