Data-literacy, describing an enterprise’s ability to read, write and communicate data in context, is becoming an explicit and necessary driver of business value, demonstrated by its increasingly vital inclusion in data and analytics strategies in financial
services.
People don’t make the right data choices
Proficient data-literacy is only realistically achievable if the data is high-quality. Financial Services Institutions need to have standardised, accurate and impartial datasets to succeed. Gartner Research’s Distinguished VP Analyst, Debra Logan, points
out that “data-driven decisions” can seem like an unfamiliar and concerning concept.* Humans tend to want to use the data they have to support decisions they have already made. In addition, the amount of time people spend inputting data relative to their other
work sometimes discourages them from providing all the necessary data at the right time. According to Copper CRM, 14 hours per week per sales person is spent on manual CRM data entry and according to SalesForce, 91% of CRM data is incomplete and 70%
goes bad or becomes obsolete every year. Data gathering techniques around client engagements and client preferences that are a distraction from core tasks will always cause inconsistent data, especially in an increasingly mobile world where many client
interactions are taking place outside of the office on a range of different devices.
Using AI to get the right data at the right time
Leveraging automated AI-driven data capture solutions is increasingly essential in today’s data-driven environment. These new approaches not only enable businesses to get a more accurate dataset above and beyond the error prone data generated through historical
manual inputs, but also a far more comprehensive dataset that shines a light into areas of operations that were historically considered impossible to truly analyse. World Economic Forum
research done on 151 organisations across 33 countries found that leveraging alternative datasets to generate novel insights is a key part of harnessing the benefits of AI with 60% of all respondents utilising new or alternative forms of data in AI applications
to further their business.
At FeedStock, we have seen how rapidly multiple benefits emerge from new data-driven strategies when there is buy-in from senior management. Once there is recognition that the data-driven approach is the new normal and is needed to survive in today’s competitive
environment, there is no stopping businesses wanting more. Enterprises operating in today’s increasingly digital environment are generating data at an exponential rate and being able to understand this data is clearly crucial. Those who embrace the challenge
of unlocking the insights within that data can drive better decision making, operational efficiencies across the business, and improved performance for the front-office.
*Gartner, Data & Analytics Leadership and Vision for 2020, January 2020