Data Analytics - The Business propeller

In this blog series so far, we’ve explained why you need data analytics and what you need to understand the story behind the numbers better. In this post, I’ll explain how we go about working with our clients to discover the hidden depths of their data stories.

First things first – what do you need?

At Agilus, we recognise that each business is different and therefore has distinct needs. We do not follow a one-size-fits-all approach; instead, we will start from the very beginning to assess what you need and where you need it.

First, we conduct a needs assessment with your organisation using surveys and interviews. As Agilus founder Sivi Covenden says, “You don’t know what you don’t know”, so these needs assessments are vital in figuring out the things you may not even have known that you needed to stay competitive in an increasingly digital world.

We also do a maturity assessment using an implementation maturity model – a best practice methodology that helps gauge the level of implementation within your business. How far are you in implementing and using data analytics? The results land on a scale from one to five: one meaning the implementation is in its infancy and five indicating maturity. This method helps the organisation to determine its strengths and weaknesses and identifies areas where it can improve.

Where do we go from here?

Next, we use all of the above information to create a road map that is unique to your business.

With the road map, we show you where you are in terms of how you put your data to work, and what you need to do to level up. Imagine you are at a level two – you’re aware of your data and you use it to some extent to make decision. We will show you what you can do to reach a level three, where you are more proactive in how you apply data analytics across the enterprise.

What are the quick wins and risk factors?

When we draw up the road map, we also identify quick wins – things you can do now to boost customer satisfaction, for example – and we indentify the risk environment that you’re operating in. We identify the risk factors to help CIOs decide which technologies or tools to invest in. Remember, for data analytics to be effective, you need a combination of people, processes and technologies.

In all of this, our main concern is you, the client, and your ability to use data to make smart business decisions. To make sure that you are a part of the process, we follow the agile methodology of project management, where you are involved at every stage of implementation. This people-first approach helps us to understand what you need, design a prototype that suits your needs, test it with you, learn from your input and feedback, and tweak the prototype based on your needs and preferences.

Does this sound like something you’d want to experience? Contact us to find out how we can level up your data analytics capabilities.