Businesses investing in innovative digital platforms is on the rise, transforming how companies operate today and for the future. Industry is shifting from a functional basis to a more process-focused approach and now further towards a digital platform basis. Digital platforms are altering businesses and data represents the core of these systems. 

Data is the key to business transformation

Companies are progressively becoming more data-focused and those that tackle and master the application of data are the ones generating the benefits. Five of the leading Fortune 500 businesses are platform companies and studies suggest that the worldwide data and analytics markets will reach $135 billion by 2025. It is also predicted that data management and analytics will form one of the most important services and a priority function for generating business success for the future.

How business management is changing

A process-applied approach focuses on the tangible results of business activity. In order to remain competitive, businesses need to consider the experience of their customers and the entire business chain. Digital platforms have enables companies to improve the entire experience, something that businesses need to consider to enhance their operations. Transforming from functional to process thinking was a significant process and today, the transition from process to the platform is another giant step. It is difficult to measure what time and investment companies will require to allocate to manage, secure and apply data in the most efficient manner.

The rise of innovation is encouraging increased automation and shifting the business’s approach towards the process. The increased availability of analytics represents a great opportunity for businesses to gather insights on both customers and their employees. For businesses moving to a platform focused perspective, the importance of data management becomes more challenging. The business must consider how to capture and clean data, how it develops and stores data to ensure it can be readily accessible.

The results of data services

Rather than arranging a business around general processes, companies are now focused on data capture, management and the application of data across the range of platforms they are developing. This creates a significant change in where companies invest their money. Data has risen in terms of its importance to business and continues to grow. As a result, the number of money businesses will spend on data management is likely to continue rising in the near future. Unfortunately investing in data management and analytics in order to deliver a quality and power service is expensive. 

Data has evolved into a critical part of business processes and companies are quickly trying to establish a strong understanding of data management and utilising the platform to its best ability. One of the challenges facing many companies in a clear shortage of available talent in data management and analytics. Many businesses are targeting investment in this market in an attempt to attract the best talent available and position themselves in a rising market for the future.