So your IT department has gathered big data around company performance – sales, profit margins, individual departments or stores’ peaks and troughs, key-performance indicators, targets you met and those where you fell short – but what are you going to do with that data? How will you use it to improve the balance sheet as well as staff and customer satisfaction levels?
In today’s world of digital transformation and evolving business environments, where agility and real-time responses are critical in giving your company a competitive edge, you need a robust and scalable data architecture in place. It should be able to manage the collection, flow, storage and security of your gathered informatics, and successfully optimise your performance while still adhering to industry standards and best practices.
Data architecture is the framework that enables the implementation of your data strategy. Data architecture turns your data into intelligent data. Facts and figures can become actionable new initiatives and allows the company to make smart, data-driven decisions.
Key qualities of data architecture
Data architecture should:
- Be scalable
As the company grows and the volume of data generated also grows, data architecture needs to expand and scale at the same rate.
- Optimise company performance
Data should be stored and sorted in such a way that it ensures the efficient use and deployment of company resources.
- Ensure data quality, eliminating inconsistencies and errors
A robust data architecture ensures data integrity by providing a framework for which the data must be placed.
- Adhere to data protocols and regulatory requirements
Legislation and regulations around the gathering, use and storage of data differ across the world and this should be taken into consideration when creating a data architecture.
Planning for a data architecture that works for your company
There are a number of factors that companies should take into consideration when embarking on data architecture building projects:
- Define your business goals
Are you looking for improved financial performance? Improved stock management and control for better profit margins? Better deployment of staff resources? Better understanding of customer behaviours and needs? Clarify what it is you are trying to achieve.
- Tools and systems
What tools and systems are you currently utilising? What are the use cases of your data and what type of data are you gathering?
- How can your existing IT department and infrastructure support your new data strategy?
Your IT department and infrastructure need to be capacitated to understand and be part of the data architecture project.
Building a robust data architecture
Bear in mind that the creation of a scalable and robust data architecture that can respond to all your company’s specific needs is a complex process. If the answer to the final question above is that your IT infrastructure is not equipped to migrate current systems to a new data architecture or to manage complex analytics, you need the assistance of Data Active.
Data Active is fully conversant in all the systems, processes, platforms, acronyms, jargon and more that it takes to be a market leader in the field of business intelligence (BI).
Data Active’s team of expert consultants will guide and train staff, and implement data architectures that meet industry-specific business needs. We have worked with diverse clients across the globe, helping them scale their architecture, optimise company performance, and ensuring data governance.
Whether you are building a data architecture from scratch or enhancing an existing one, Data Active provides the expertise you need. We are dedicated to delivering solutions that support your data analytics efforts and help your organisation thrive in the data space.
Partnering with Data Active will ensure your data architecture aligns with your business goals and prepares you for a data-driven future.
