Maximizing Insights from Your Organization's Data & Content

Introduction

Both the data and content within your organization can be insightful if managed carefully and intentionally. However, it’s important to understand that data and content are very different in nature, and both need different methods of management.Data management tends to be more difficult and consuming, requiring a number of tools and skills for success. Tools for data management have recently grown to include hybrid cloud platforms providing flexibility in deployment, security, integration, and more.With content management, organizations are seeking to reach regulatory compliance, manage risks, store and disseminate customer information, and ensure efficient business processes. This tends to be a more streamlined process than data management, with ECM systems designed for easy content storage, distribution, and management.It’s simple to understand the difference between organizational data and organizational content. However, discovering and implementing the best practices for each can prove to be a challenge.Your organizational data consists of standardized information about customers, your company’s processes, and financial information. This data must be standardized and stored in a database or warehouse to ensure security and privacy.Organizational content can consist of customer documents, blogs with associated images, or other document-style resources in a variety of supported formats (pdf, tiff, jpg, etc.). It tends to be unstructured and you can easily use an ECM system for seamless storage and management.The storage and management of your data and content is only the first step. For top effectiveness, you will want to gain critical insights from your content and data, which typically requires expertise in breaking down and determining the truth about the information.In order to gather, break down, and utilize insights from your content and data, you will need to understand the most effective ways to do so.Below, we explain 4 simple tips/best practices for maximizing your ability to garner insights from your content and data:

Tip 1: Create a Data Strategy

Just like with most things, a great strategy is essential for implementation. A data strategy should be intentional and ensure that you have a specific system in place for processing, automation, and funneling the data that you need. With an effective strategy, you will be able to maximize the value of your data.Anytime an organization neglects to put together an intentional strategy, or they throw a number of systems together that don’t work cohesively, they’re actually setting themselves back and creating more work. Instead of creating a flawless system that flows forwards, they dig themselves deeper and deeper into a data glut.To ensure a seamless data and content strategy, you’re going to want to get out of the data glut with intentionality and careful planning. Anytime you attempt to propel forwards through every step of the data process without a strategy, you’re setting yourself up to make mistakes, suffer from data loss, and inevitably fall behind your competition.Below is an excerpt from our “2021 Guide to Data Strategy and Insights”:

• Locating Your Data – Step 1
  • Your organization likely has data from a range of sources. Depending on your industry, you may work with POS systems, inventory monitoring, audit results, payroll, employee metrics, website visits, and a variety of other data points. The first step in managing your data is to identify all its sources.
• Examining Your Current Data Pipeline – Step 2
  • A “data pipeline” is the path your data takes as it spreads throughout your organization. Consider how information is shared between teams, departments, facilities, and other silos. Ideally, your data pipeline standardizes and streamlines the flow of information.
• Creating or Upgrading Your Pipeline – Step 3
  • Any organization can improve its data communication. Whether you need to build your data pipeline from scratch, or simply desire an optimized strategy, there are several options to improve your internal performance.
• Garnering Insights – Step 4
  • Interpreting your data to garner insights is a separate process from daily data management. This vital task can generate a surprising amount of ROI after your organization invests in robust data management.

If you’re looking for more information on what a good strategy looks like, click here to read our 2021 guide.

Tip 2: Include Automation Where You Can

Most organizations have tons of content and data to manage. The greater amount of data and content, the more difficult management becomes. Manually managing large amounts of essential information creates the potential for human error through mismanaged handling and manual entry.By implementing automation, you can ensure that all of your data will be handled accurately, using the correct processes, and without mismanagement. With automation, you can ensure there is an effective structure for processing and utilizing data.Instead of treading water in a large sea of data and losing essential information in the process, use automation in order to standardize the processes used for handling your content and data. Doing so properly removes the element of human error, basically making it impossible for your data to end up in the wrong place.With automation, you’re able to protect your organization from starring in a data loss horror story. Removing human touch from the process also removes the potential for human error. Automated data management methodologies, instituted properly, are essentially hands-off, creating an effective process.

Tip 3: Maintain Clean Data

Unclean data gleams inaccurate insights. For obvious reasons, this data is difficult to utilize, because information gained is guaranteed to have inconsistencies. When data is not clean, the insights you gather can actually veer far from the truth, giving you too much information, some of which is not accurate.To maximize insights from your data and content, you will need to ensure that your data is clean. One of the best ways to do this is by bringing in an expert who can clean up your dirty data and prepare it for utilization. By identifying, cleaning, and standardizing data before it is put into the database, you’ll know that the insights collected in the database are accurate and true.Dashboards are a great method for verifying clean data and sound processes. The departments, processes, and any other things your organization is tracking can easily be collected, organized, and stored, through the use of dashboards. They are a simple and effective way to ensure that your data is clean.

Tip 4: Utilize an ECM System for Your Content

With an ECM system, you can organize, store, and handle your content in a seamless, efficient manner. They create a simple, organized method for storage that makes it ten times easier for an analyst to get the information they need.ECM systems are used for content storage, organization, management, retention, and delivery, making it simple for users to easily access the content that they need. Thus, while an ECM system isn’t necessary for data management, it creates simplicity for everyone involved.In order to maximize insights, utilize an ECM system along with a sound data strategy, creating a cohesive, streamlined process. Additionally, ensuring data capture and content storage process automation, you can build a system that flawlessly functions to provide you with the insights that you need.If you’re interested in learning more about how an ECM system can completely change your organization’s relationship with its content, click here to read “What is ECM?”.

Wrapping Up

Your organization’s content and data management is an essential part of success. Not only is it important to keep your data and content organized and secure to avoid risk, but doing this will also allow you to gain powerful insights that can transform your organization. Learning how to break down your information to decipher the truth can be quite a challenge, especially if you have a great deal of data to go through.By following a handful of our useful tips you can maximize your ability to garner insights from your organization’s information, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be operating at full potential. In most cases, outside expertise is essential to ensure maximum effectiveness.Working with DAS can simplify the process on your end, making it much easier from start to finish:

• For Content: DAS can install, upgrade, and/or migrate your ECM systems, making sure that your content management processes are ideal.
• For Data: DAS Analytics can assess your current data practices and craft a data strategy that’s custom to your needs. This strategy will allow you to more effectively manage data & insights, freeing you up to focus on your business and take action on the insights we provide.

No matter where your organization is at in the process, click here to hop on a call with us. We’ll be able to discuss your needs and give you all the advice you need to take some of the weight off of your shoulders.