Visionary companies around the world are finding in Data Awareness a revolutionary model in which data is used to generate greater awareness about the very purpose of the company itself, within a global, challenging, and constantly evolving scenario.
A random story about data in a company.
We’ve heard the same story over and over again: a company in any sector starts to succeed and expand; its management and logistics become increasingly complex because it now covers a much larger territory in different cities, and even countries or regions.
With increased activity, a greater amount of information is produced and used by the management team for decision-making. The problem arises when the correct data isn’t available at the right time, and, worse still, it’s uncertain where the data originates, let alone whether it’s reliable.
So, the company decides to take matters into its own hands and begins experimenting with various software tools. They hire data experts, invest in a more powerful Data Warehouse, assign specialized teams to every detail of the data, all in an effort to attain greater clarity in managing their data.
After a colossal effort, the company realizes that all these implementations created islands in the midst of an ocean of information. Often, these islands have no connection with each other, so they don’t know how they function as a whole, and thus begin to establish different criteria for managing their data. All the islands have to report their progress to the central administration. However, each one uses its own criteria based on what’s in its territory.
The problem of standardization has now arisen, prompting the company to reconsider the path it must take to correct its course. It has already invested so much time and money in this effort, but it’s unsure which perspective to adopt at this point.
This is the exact moment when adopting the Data Awareness approach becomes the solution, and many companies not only resolve the separation between data management approaches but also become aware of the importance of data in understanding their position within the complex environment in which they operate as a company.
What is Data Awareness?
Scenarios like the one described above regarding data issues are very common in companies of all sizes and industries. In fact, they are becoming increasingly prevalent due to the rise in global relationships among industries, which increases the level of complexity of the data being generated, managed, stored, and consumed.
The problem doesn’t lie in handling the data itself; in fact, a company can now break down data into even atomic levels to study all its components. The real challenge lies in the level of understanding the company has of itself based on the data it generates.
Literally, Data Awareness can be translated as “Consciousness of Data.” While this term might bring to mind the holistic approach of the “New Age” that has gained strength in recent years, it’s not actually a new term.
Originally, Data Awareness was more related to the security in the use and handling of data, as it was used in the sense of “Being alert,” which is also another meaning of Awareness. However, in recent years, the concept has been expanding to integrate the idea of being “conscious” of the company’s identity based on the data it produces.
If we were to engage in an exercise of imagination where we consider the company as a person, this data awareness would represent all the information captured by the senses and processed in the brain to determine the existence of the individual. Following the analogy, if we take the body as the data processing source, we notice that although the origin of the data greatly differs between the senses and all organs, all that information is harmoniously integrated and interconnected to work towards a single objective: keeping that individual alive.
From this perspective, Data Awareness is actually a way to understand how a company manages its data, transcending the tools, infrastructures, or technologies used. All of these are means by which data is obtained and consumed, but above all of that, there must be a guiding intention with a common goal: enabling the company’s evolution.
The company becomes self-aware.
For this exercise of imagination to be possible within the company, the first step is to understand its current condition. The consulting work we do at BIMEX Analytics precisely begins by determining the level of Data Awareness a company has so that, from there, a path of evolution in this process of self-awareness through the use of its data can be established.
For us, Data Awareness translates into an intelligent and, above all, data-conscious management model that combines the best practices of Data Management, Performance Management, and Data Analytics to create a useful framework for critical decision-making.
This interplay of approaches is embodied in our DOCE model, which is based on a company’s level of Data Awareness maturity, guiding efforts towards a comprehensive transformation path.
These levels of Data Awareness maturity encompass fundamental criteria that a company establishes to integrate its data management efforts on a robust foundation of evolution.
LEVEL 1: DISCOVER
The challenge for companies at this level lies in identifying data generation sources and selecting the most suitable tools to store information and access it more efficiently.
LEVEL 2: ORGANIZE
Once the information sources are known, it’s time to organize them correctly based on quality values to consolidate them in a single, easily accessible location.
LEVEL 3: CONSUME
At this level, governance criteria are established for data access and responsibility. This involves having only high-quality data available to serve key decision-making.
LEVEL 4: STANDARDIZE
It’s time to establish general criteria for managing data across all areas of the company. Data now becomes the cornerstone of the company’s development and understanding.
Analyze the data that truly matters to make decisions that truly impact.
In a general summary, implementing a Data Awareness model as the guiding principle for data management in a company allows for a much broader, effective, and, above all, integrated perspective of all elements that enable the company to understand itself better and to respond to any internal or external conditions in the competitive landscape of today’s business world.
If you’d like a final reflection, we can assure you that implementing a Data Awareness strategy in your company will allow you to:
MEASURING THE PAST
ACT IN THE PRESENT
PREDICT THE FUTURE
If you need further advice on the correct implementation of this model, you can write to: admin@bimexanalytics.com
