Maximize Your Data to Enhance Decision Making

Data has emerged as one of the most valuable assets for any organization. However, many companies struggle to harness its full potential. This can be incredibly difficult to do when there’s so much of it.

The challenge isn’t just having access to vast amounts of data—it’s understanding how to work it to your advantage. A well-crafted data strategy doesn’t just help; it changes the game.

Understanding Business Objectives and Data Landscape

The foundation of a successful data strategy begins with a thorough understanding of your core objectives. In a perfect world, you’d bring on a data and analytics consultant to analyze the organization’s processes, technologies and existing data assets. This initial phase involves asking the questions: Who are your customers? How do you go to market? What operational challenges do you face? The answers to these will direct consultants or in-house technology professionals to assess the richness of the data gold mine you’re sitting on and extract maximum value from it.

With great power comes great… data? Something like that! Often, businesses already have valuable data but lack the tools or expertise to turn it into actionable insights. Having a firm grasp on your current state will uncover key recommendations for investments with maximum impact.

The Role of Data Strategy

The right data strategy allows you to move away from manually pulling data into spreadsheets to analyze past performance. While tried-and-true, this approach is limited and reactive. The data you possess is far greater than that—and can be used in a much more proactive way.

Sure, you could stick to just reporting past performance, but by building a cloud-based financial data mart, you can pinpoint the factors that shaped those outcomes and even predict future trends. It’s a proactive approach that also tackles the issues of data quality and governance. For instance, AI and advanced analytics are only as effective as the quality of data they are fed. So above all else, your data must be enriched and optimized so your organization is capturing the right details about its business processes.

From platform rationalization and building a new data warehouse/lake as your “single source of truth,” to creating better dashboards and reports, or even automating processes with AI, every strategy for driving value from your data boils down to three things. Making more money, reducing costs and mitigating risks (done, done and done!).

Outsourced Services for Long-Term Success

Data analytics is part of any good due diligence strategy. Consider what data you have, how you’re currently using it, how you can future-proof your company with it, and how you can expedite growth after an acquisition with it. If you lack the internal resources to implement these strategies, you can outsource any and all parts of the process, from developing advanced analytics capabilities to integrating external data sets for more accurate predictions. At Sikich, we understand that a well-executed data strategy is not just about improving your operations—rather, it’s about transforming the way a business functions. The way we see it: the key is to treat data not as a byproduct of business operations but as a strategic asset that can be mined, refined and leveraged to achieve long-term success. Talk to our team to learn more.

About Our Authors

Rick Young is a senior director, who leads Sikich’s data and AI practice, helping people achieve their business goals through the development of innovative and effective information management, analytics, and intelligent automation strategies. With over 20 years of experience in management consulting, he has delivered enterprise-scale solutions for Fortune 1000 clients across various industries. Rick specializes in data strategy, data governance, master data management, data science and intelligent automation.

Kael Campbell, CPA, is a senior manager on the transaction advisory services team. With a strong background in financial due diligence and buy-side and sell-side transaction consulting services, Kael serves private equity and family office clients with the expertise of a seasoned professional. His clients value his knowledge in mergers and acquisition consulting and his ability to agilely adopt and perform effective quality of earnings reports.