FountainBlue's November 17 VIP Roundtable was on the topic of 'Data is the New Black'. Our executives in attendance represented a wide range of backgrounds, industries and experiences. Below is a summary of their thoughts.
Our executives continually returned to the theme that data is the foundation for all businesses, that it is pervasive, that it is the 'ante' for participating, that it is pervasive, central and critical to the success and growth of all organizations in all industries.
The question then becomes:
How can we better harness the data to:
provide sales/marketing support:
understand customer insights?
leverage market trends and opportunities?
grow revenues?
identify niche customers or needs?
provide strategic support:
anticipate and plan for existential threats?
anticipate and capitalize on trends and needs?
provide support for operational and administrative tasks:
more efficiently manage supply chain, operational and administrative tasks?
Below are some thoughts about how we can continue to expand our use of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and automation:
Leverage predictive analytics to plan, manage, and anticipate operational issues
Enhance the user experience so that it's more immersive and realistic with more realistic graphics and shorter lag times
Collect more data on the edge through sensors
Capture data collected on the edge to address urgent needs around safety
Manage the data collected at the edge with data collected on the cloud
But challenges remain:
How do we create and update useful dashboards with actionable insights around the data?
How do we protect the privacy of our users while leveraging the data to serve those same users?
How do we remain compliant to governance and legal requirements around the world when everything is shifting so quickly?
How do we integrate data silos so that companies can act as one organization to better serve our stakeholders?
With so much data, how do we sift the Signal from the Noise?
How do we ensure the integrity of the data we are using to make business decisions, leaning on a 'Single Source of Truth'?
How do we move more people from more traditional ways of doing business to more digital ways of doing business so that they don't get left behind?
How do we ensure that our hardware and software solutions around data manage energy efficiency and even sustainably?
As usual, we had more questions than answers, but we agreed that:
Data will be ever more foundational to the success of any organization;
Managing data and using it wisely will be a complex and essential task; and
Working together, we can better collaborate and understand the challenges and opportunities around the collecting, management, usage, and access to data.
Our final thought: Leverage data as a pneumatic nail, providing a 10x multiplier for your business!