Expectations for Data Management

A varied composite of technologies, including Cloud, AI (Artificial Intelligence), Machine Learning among others are helping business, process, analyse, coordinate and act upon ever growing “Three V’s” – volumes, variety and velocity of data that has and is piling up in Company offices after the lockdown. 

New business models too are emerging to disrupt the existing systems. Organisations that view data as an asset will discover innovative ways to optimise business processes, deliver value to customers and build a stronger more competitive advantage in the marketplace. 

Data Collection is about understanding the positive effect some data can have on the business and can offer the ability to create an impact on future trading. 

Managing this data is the result of “connection of the right data”, insights arrived at, and the right people to optimise processes. This increases efficiency and drives innovation. 

What is Data Management? 

Oracle defines Data Management as “the practice of collecting, keeping and using data securely and cost effectively.”

“The goal of Data Management is to help people, organisations, and connected things, optimise the use of data within the bounds of policy and regulation so that they can make decisions and tackle actions that maximise the benefit to the organisation.” 

A lively and robust data management strategy is now becoming more important than ever, as organisations will increasingly rely on Intangible assets to create value.                                         

 This is all well and good. But in essence, in today’s world scene, Data is a kind of capital, which may be considered as a factor of production “in digital goods and service”. 

Technology ahead of the pandemic 

Technology has enabled remote working from home and to be able to connect people with their co-workers without an office environment. 

The pandemic has accelerated the need for customer experiences. McKinsey reported that 92 percent of companies were already planning to change their business models to become more digitally focused. 

We now see a shake up of the business landscape. Today we have Video Conferencing with Zoom, high speed internet access with say 5G network, real time collaborative software, mobile devices and Cloud computing which have enabled many organisations to  digitally focus distributed work environments at speed from home and other places. 

It is the silent revolution of the workplace nobody speaks about because no one knows every aspect of this change. 

Many Companies could not have been able to cope with the unprecedented changes to their business without applying new technology. 

Amazon has applied data science to optimise its logistics operation to meet the unprecedented surge in customer demand as most all transaction in lockdown was online, and people were spending at random. A dual purpose was served as Amazon was able to keep its workforce also safe. 

Some other companies have used machine learning to give Managers performance targets of workers working from home, something unheard of before. 

In the field of Inventory Management, a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) is the tool which has come in very handy. It is a distinct type of item for sale, such as a product or a service. All attributes associated with the item, type that distinguishes it from another such as manufacturer, description, material, size, colour, packaging, and warranty is recorded. 

It is not only business that is embracing this new technology from their database. Customers are changing their behaviour as well. People who had never bought groceries online, Forrester Research states 41% were buying more things online than they have in the past. 

This is bringing technology posture in line with today’s needs. Will this new habit change? 

Data Responsibility 

What we are seeing are also some key measures for Data Responsibility. This is seen in upholding privacy and data protection. Beside the General Data Protection Regulation in European Union law on Data Protection and Privacy (GDPR), we now have Purpose Limitation. 

This is clearly to specify the purpose for which the data is needed. This is then explained to the people from whom the data will be collected. It is a way to establish safeguards to ensure that Data is used only for the intended purpose. 

What we can expect in the days and months ahead is a massive amount of data coming to an organisation which if unmanaged, would paralyse business. If technology would not sift through it fast enough, to make informed decisions, we would see chaos. This is the best we can expect of life after the pandemic. 

Victor Cherubim