Demystifying Data is the First Step Towards Taking Action

Data are values of qualitative or quantitative variables, belonging to a set of items. Or are they? While data is often regarded as an abstract, it’s really just a way to track everything that surrounds us and how we interact with it. And the beauty of that is that every day, in all our lives, we’re surrounded by data that’s screaming out for us to take action. We’re just not always quite equipped to hear it.

Over the decades, many of the world’s biggest businesses have prospered by becoming experts in aggregating and digesting massive quantities of information. Together, they have spent billions of dollars refining the techniques to make sense of this data and put it into formats that would help them make faster, better decisions.

Today however, this same level of sophistication is available to the average working businessperson – and through interfaces that make it simple to manage. From fishermen to firemen, retailers to entrepreneurs, the ability to become attuned to the patterns of behaviour in every profession is a source of real advantage.

Big Data, Big Impact

Let’s take for an example an industry where improving this understanding can be literally a matter of life and death, namely the healthcare industry. As a notoriously unpredictable and dynamic environment where performance is tricky to measure and even harder to learn from, innovators have started using natural analytics to analyse wait times, track patient pathways through hospitals and monitor departments like A&E. Natural analytics means being presented with data in such a way that we can naturally digest it. By taking this enormous and shifting body of information and highlighting the patterns, doctors and nurses can view up to the minute details on performance and better manage resources on the fly. And those who manage the bigger picture can track wider patterns to improve the experience over the longer term.

For contrast, you’d find it harder to identify a far different example than Peruvian fisherman. But already, this very group is using similar techniques to find fish in the sea, track the distribution of boats and manage their warehouses. They can then make clearer decisions about areas like port availability and distance, reduce wastage of fish and streamline the process of working with buyers. They can literally identify the optimum fishing zones over time and map the most efficient and sustainable process possible. All by turning natural analytics and insight into actionable data.

In emergency services, we again see an example where better tracking and presentation of information can be a life-saver. Fire fighters in Amsterdam have been collecting data on risks within their region, response times and frequency of incidents. In itself, this combines over 600,000 data points including infrastructure, buildings, incident types and risk profiles – an unmanageable quantity of information by traditional means.

Being able to use natural analysis becomes key to making sense of this sprawling knowledge to simplify the process where it counts; taking action as quickly and effectively as possible. The results mean this group can precisely anticipate over 12 million possible incidents and prepare in the right ways to take action.

Financial Implications

Lastly, but certainly not least, let’s take the example of those who should be experts at data analysis, namely those in banks and the financial services industries. They are currently in a position where they must be more accountable than ever – and better understanding of their data is one way to achieve that. Increasing visibility of performance and transparency of their actions is only possible by taking the huge amounts of activity they do every day and being able to filter it to reveal the big picture.

And, as for the entrepreneurs taking risks to create the next generation of growing businesses and success, natural analytics let them try ideas faster, learn from them with more confidence and build companies that will last. Tree top adventure company Go Ape provides the perfect example, listening to the data created by running its operation so that staff can more easily collaborate, manage rapid growth and work around reports that help them make the right decisions.

The truth, as they say, is out there. And we’re at a time in human history where it’s easier than ever create value from the world around us in ways that wouldn’t have even been conceivable until very recently. The advantages will come to all kinds of businesses as this opportunity becomes more accessible. However, to reap the benefits, we not only have to be able to turn data into insight, but then also put it into action.

James Richardson, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Qlik, outlines how to turn insight into actionable data.