OPINION10 October 2019
Data direction from the top
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Data must be valued by those leading organisations so there is sufficient investment in the infrastructure writes Nielsen’s UK analytics director, James Oates.
I am often asked by senior client contacts what is best practice for providing insight and creating an environment for success. Increasingly, my response is to look in the mirror – be the one who evangelises the data and analytics. Being committed, and demonstrating your belief in the value data brings, will start to unlock the power of analytics.
As an industry, we talk about the value of data and the power of the research that fuels data creation. Data-based analytics improve business decision-making and should be seen as an investment, not an overhead cost. The reality is that demonstrating the true value of research is a constant challenge that comes round during every organisation’s budget planning cycle. So why is there this recurring need to justify the investment in research data and supporting infrastructure given the benefits it can bring?
The answer lies in how data is valued by the organisation’s senior leadership. It is easy to say that data is ...
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1 Comment
Elisabeth Mary
5 years ago
Thanks James, great piece! I agree that representation at the top of the organisation coupled with sufficient investment and the right people, partners and tools to democratise access to the data are all critical enablers of customer-led decision-making. We must not forget the importance of 'research' in this context though. Too often we see insight environments where 'big data' and data analytics dominate the discourse; they need to work hand in hand and one shouldn't be championed at the expense of the other. After all, without good research we cannot identify the 'why' of particular patterns in the data. Research is also critical to understand consumer behaviour in all its complexity as well as predict future behaviours and needs. It is up to all insight professionals in my view to ensure that the two disciplines continue to evolve and cohabit in a collaborative and complementary manner.
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