*Per Cesar Ripari
We live in a data-driven world. Every day, we are sharing, creating and consuming information on our personal devices and, most importantly, in our work. Therefore, it is certain that we have more data available today than the volume we accumulate throughout our lives. By 2025, there will be approximately 180 trillion Gigabytes and 5,000 daily interactions – per person – driven by data. Despite this, there is still a great challenge: learning and understanding the data in order to obtain the best insights for decision making.
Today, being data literate is as important as reading and writing, yet we are facing a huge skills gap. And it goes a long way toward helping organizations meet the challenges when it comes to having the tools and expertise to make a difference working, analyzing, and communicating from data.
This is a new skill that any professional can learn to be able to ask the right questions to data, build knowledge and get assertive answers towards better business results. Those who think that this knowledge should be restricted to high-ranking executives are wrong. In today's digital landscape, where the volume of available information grows exponentially, data literacy should be embraced by everyone, regardless of role, skill level or BI tools (Business Intelligence) adopted. In this way, a competitive advantage is gained to stand out – and survive – in the aggressive global economy that we currently have.
Research shows that companies with data-literate teams are more productive, achieve market leadership faster, and deliver up to 5% greater business value, potentially earning hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The journey to expand knowledge is still beginning, but this path must be followed by everyone within organizations because, after all, we are in a new era in which data is the basis for differentiating companies in digital transformation and leadership in the economy analytics today.
Globally, only 24% of decision makers are fully confident in their data-related capabilities. However, 94% of professionals who use data in their current role agree that analyzing information helps them perform better in their roles and gain greater credibility in the workplace by being more assertive with recommendations.
Some factors still prevent data analysis from being widely disseminated and internal resistance is undoubtedly one of the main obstacles. Organizations and cultures are built on corporate traditions, and change is often resisted. In possession of the correct and analyzed data, many times, the "status quo" can be questioned and a new route, different from the one that has always been practiced, can lead to a new model and new decisions.
Contrary to those who are still skeptical, many companies are starting to experiment with unprecedented levels of production and consumption of data to increase productivity. It is true that data is an important source of energy and the basis for transformational changes such as the arrival of Artificial Intelligence, 09(Machine Learning) and Big Data, as well as greater automation and special advanced predictive analytics systems.
Almost all companies are dealing with a huge amount of information. However, collecting them is not the same as understanding them, even more so given the critical skills gap that exists. Data literacy is not just about being able to read numbers, charts and tables, but extrapolating the useful meaning of data and the various visual representations that are used to understand and facilitate business.
Therefore, the more qualified professionals are to read, work, analyze and communicate with data, the more they can contribute to their functions and to the future of their organizations. Regardless of the company's size or area of business, it is possible to develop internal learning programs. With the use of education strategies and new technologies, surely everyone will be literate and able to speak the language of data, using them properly to make innovative discoveries and to turn the business game around. Success depends on data!
*Cesar Ripari, QLIK pre-sales director for Latin America
Notice: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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