Five myths that keep mid-market companies from making smarter decisions

It’s in there

Your organization is amassing a tremendous amount of data. And that data is full of potential insights including:

• connections between data points previously unmade• emerging trends that have remained invisible• latent signals that have not made it out of spreadsheets

But unless you know how to access them, those insights may as well not exist. That’s where data analytics comes in.

Start smartData analytics presents tremendous opportunities for mid-market companies and yet many have not taken the first step. Why? Lack of comfort? Unclear outcomes? Not sure where to start?

One of the toughest analytics challenges business leaders struggle with is determining where to focus first.

Analytics can be applied anywhere an organization has data – but that doesn’t mean it should be. You have to know which questions you should be answering, not just the ones you could answer.

Answer the right questions.

BIG DATA IS FOR BIG BUSINESS

Myth 1We’re not big enough yet

We’re just not at a scale where it would pay to invest in

data warehouses, data scientists and expensive software.

Level the playing fieldTechnology is the “great equalizer” for mid-market companies.

Once predominantly seen as an expense, technology is now viewed by business leaders as a worthwhile investment and a source of strategic advantage. The same powerful insights that help big business compete are available and affordable to mid-market companies.

REALITY

MORE DATA. MORE INSIGHT.

Myth 2If we just had more data……we would be able to solve our business problems

and identify opportunities.

A picture is worth a thousand wordsAnalytics is about asking your existing data for answers to business questions.

Visualizing the data makes it possible to absorb large amounts of data quickly. An idea can be conveyed with a single image. And you may uncover a hidden insight.

This allows business managers to spend more time investigating why things are happening and what to do about it – not what’s happening.

REALITY

ANALYTICS IS AN IT ISSUE

Myth 3This is IT’s responsibility

IT is the champion of analytics for our company; after all,

it’s about technology, right?

Analytics is business led and technology enabledIT departments are often the initial analytics champions within companies. But this approach can result in finger pointing when solutions take too long to deliver and don’t meet user requirements.

The business must focus analytics on the most important and pressing business issues and partner with IT to deliver solutions.

REALITY

Give LEANalytics a tryChange the interaction between the business and IT to be more collaborative and co-creative by applying lean and agile principles to analytics.

Start with the smallest thing you can do that will deliver the most value and build from there.

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN

Myth 4We’re not equipped for thisWe have too many foundational process and

infrastructure issues to address before we can

even start to think about analytics.

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s … a cloud!The cloud is not just a place to store data.

Mid-market companies should consider different models to meet their needs, including analytics-as-a-service. You can still gain insights quickly without a major investment in infrastructure.

A simple, sprint-like project could help you better understand analytics and the capabilities you might want to develop.

REALITY

YOU CAN’T GET BLOOD FROM A STONE

Myth 5Analytics won’t tell me anything new

Analytics is more hype than value. We made

a minimal investment to test the waters and

at the end of the day, we were no further

ahead finding answers to our questions.

There’s gold in them thar’ data hillsAn analytics vision and strategy help organizations understand where they are today and their future target state. Shiny solutions alone won’t guarantee value and could be an expensive distraction.

Does it make sense to start in a business domain where basic analytics capabilities exist, such as finance or risk? Or start fresh in an area where expectations are low and opportunities may be considerable? These are the questions to ask in forming your analytics vision and strategy.

REALITY

Customer

Finance

Risk

Supply chain

Workforce

Customer segmentation; intelligent pricing; marketing ROI; lifetime value

Financial performance management; planning, budgeting and forecasting

Fraud; smart safety; predictive project risk; reputational risk

Supplier and procurement analysis; product profitability

Retirement risk; new hire cost analysis

What would you like to be doing better?Our experience has shown that not all domains are created equal and vary across industries – where do you see ROI for your organization?

Part of the value chain Value drivers made better with analytics

Dispel the myths. Recognize the possibilities.Get savvy with analytics.

Myth

We’re not big enough yet.

If we just had more data…

This is IT’s responsibility.

We’re not equipped for this.

Analytics won’t tell me anything new.

Reality

Analytics levels the playing field, letting mid-market companies compete with big business.

Visualization tools make it easier to absorb large amounts of existing data quickly and convey ideas through a single image.

Analytics is business led and technology enabled. Focus analytics on business issues and partner with IT to deliver solutions.

Using a cloud-based solution or lean implementation can help a company get its feet wet.

Having an analytics vision and strategy are key to reaping the value of an analytics journey. Without them, realizing ROI can prove difficult.

REALITY

Ready to squeeze more insight from your data?

Learn to use analytics to address these business

challenges in our HIVE – Highly Immersive Visual

Environment – at the Deloitte Greenhouse or with

an in-person demonstration.

Lisa Allen

Partner

National Growth Enterprises Advisory Services Leader

416-601-6441

liallen@deloitte.ca

For more information, please contact:

© Deloitte LLP and affiliated entities.