IT Departments Need To Build More Data Literacy

Companies want to understand their customers and give them personalized brand experiences. But analytical skills are required for customer intelligence and a holistic view of the customer. The Information Technology departments have to upgrade here to strengthen the data literacy.

Restricted by scarce resources, companies struggle to analyze a large amount of collected data and use the knowledge gained efficiently to increase growth.

Data is becoming more and more readily available, and companies are increasingly able to understand the entire customer journey concerning their brands.

The ability to analyze data and extract crucial insights is no longer just reserved for data scientists. IT departments are increasingly playing to their strengths here.

The following seven trends for the data and IT world can be foreseen in connection with data analysis:

1. The influence of IT in the area of ​​data analysis will increase. At the interface between all departments, they take the lead, break down data silos and make all information accessible in one place. There is often much more customer, operational, and transaction data available in the various company teams than expected.                  Good IT departments will take action and formulate a robust data strategy to bundle all information centrally.
2. IT has the most extraordinary competence when it comes to consumer protection and data security. As a traditionally governance-oriented department, it can not only provide other teams with best practice examples.  It can also ensure that the legal requirements for collecting, storing, and using customer data are complied with.
3. CIOs must take responsibility for centralizing customer data. Seventy-two percent of executives at the top management level have not yet established a data culture, 69 percent have not yet created a data-driven corporate structure – this was shown by an HBR report at the beginning of the year.                                        There is a rule in many companies despite the chief data officer Unclear whether and how the available data should centralize. With its technical suitability and process orientation, IT is well prepared to take on a leadership role here.
4. The IT department needs to become familiar with the requirements and applications that their colleagues need. A data strategy is successful when employees are convinced that their needs are being addressed. If, for example, marketing prioritizes cross-channel personalization to always address customers with the right offer at the right time, then the IT department must think its way into the corresponding process and harmonize the issue with the other functions in the company. Just a targeted use of data promises success.                              THEREFORE, the IT approach should be considered long-term and take into account the requirements and expectations of the return on investment (RoI) of all teams. Acquisitions have to fit the strategy so that everyone involved pulls together.
5. The revolutionary development of customer intelligence gives IT more weight in the company. Succeeds all customer-relevant data centrally bundling in one place. Reporting, analysis, and insights are considerably simplified. This enables IT to take a leadership role in establishing a data-driven corporate culture in general and improving the customer experience. The task is to tear down data silos and bring the right colleagues to one table to design and implement a solid data strategy. CIOs are ideally suited to this challenge. You have the chance to make IT even more critical within the company.
6. IT needs to develop its data science skills and understand the value of combined data sets. Many IT teams have extensive technical knowledge. However, bringing together complex data sets from many groups brings new challenges with it, and it is also necessary to develop new skills. Even if IT relies on machine learning and artificial intelligence: Behind Data Science is much more than that. IT teams have to upgrade here.
7. Customer data in the Cloud makes it possible to call up more significant performance potential. As recently as five years ago, many companies refused to store data in the Cloud categorically. The main reasons were security concerns and the inability of cloud providers to offer solutions for specific use cases. The effort of transferring all data to the Cloud did not seem to be worthwhile. In the meantime, cloud providers have made significant strides. Numerous services link data with decision-making.
8. In addition, both internal and customer-oriented actions can be implemented in real-time. Customer and business data are also much better protected through improvements such as shielded VMs and tools for authorization management. Local data storage devices still have their raison d’être, but since cloud providers have recognized the value of high-security standards and data scaling for brands, their benefits have dwindled.

So let’s be clear: Since companies have difficulties breaking down data silos and organizing information in a centrally accessible manner, IT has to take on a pioneering role.