Data is at the core of disruptions around the world. By 2020, we’re hitting 44 trillion gigabytes of data, according to IDC. When organizations have a system that generates actionable insights from data—fast and at scale—the benefits are sizeable.

Data, the new oil, for business

For businesses, data has become a significant asset. Leaders constantly look for ways to create value and competitive advantage from the information that it holds. However, data means nothing when it’s not analyzed. In 2012, only 0.5% of data is analyzed and 3% is tagged. The potential for value is massive. But only when people use the insights extracted from data in the right way at the right time. Helping businesses turn data into actionable insights is the power of data science. While analyzing data is not new, data science uses advanced techniques to process thousands, if not millions, of data that businesses have.

Opportunities in converting data into insights

With data science, leaders can build data-driven organizations that continuously improve, optimize, and grow. Here are 10 major benefits of using data science in business.

1. Engage customers with personalization

One of the biggest challenges that businesses face today is rising above the noise. Consumers now have multiple sources of information and ways to interact with brands. Data science can help you communicate with consumers in a way that’s relevant and effective. For example, when engaging leads, you can leverage detailed touchpoints and engagement history. Using this information, you can better address the needs of your potential customers and increase the chance of conversions.

2. Innovate meaningful and market-ready products

Many factors make product innovations successful. Data is one of them. Market perception and customer usage are examples of actionable insights that data can provide you. Implementing this deep knowledge during development will help design products that resonate best with your audience. According to Lynn Wu, professor at Wharton, “Analytics can really drive the creation of recombinations, or combining a diverse set of existing technologies in a new way.”

3. Identify best practices among staff

Besides innovating products, data science can also help organizations transform processes. Huge amounts of calendar, email, location, and other data are available to understand how staff work and communicate. Knowing your staff better can increase productivity, streamline workflows, and build high-performing teams with complementary skills and work styles.

4. Reach new audiences

More than ever, organizations have a lot of customer data waiting to be analyzed. What data science can do is to combine and experiment with different data points to come up with new and useful information. A new understanding of consumer behavior or trends can emerge. Some you may use to expand outside your core business. While some may utilize to discover similar customers but in different segments, verticals, and even industries.

5. Augment and enhance operations

Infusing data insights into operational processes when and where they are required can increase efficiency and reduce flaws. Data can discover areas of improvement from distribution and inventory to manufacturing and backend operations. For instance, using data yielded a sustainable $10 million to $20 million annual profit for a mining company without additional capital investments nor change initiatives.

6. Hire the right people

Finding the best talent that fits organizational needs is a complex process. It considers a lot of factors including supply and demand of skills, job-specific wages, the value of educational background and experiences, and more. With data science, you can access a more transparent labor market and optimize your recruitment process. Analyzing various data points such as job search websites, social media, and data-driven tests can help you select the best candidate.

7. Identify and predict trends

Change is inevitable. In business, data science can detect  if markets and consumer preferences are expanding, contracting, or staying the same. By 2020, the predictive analytics market worldwide is projected to reach $10.95 billion. Armed with future insights, you’ll be in a better position to stay ahead and competitive. You can venture into new markets or reconfigure products to match expected trends.

8. Manage and minimize risks

The abundance of data takes risk management to the next level. Businesses have been using analytics for years now. But recently, new technologies enable more sophisticated models, simulations, and analysis. With data science, you can establish measurement parameters for examining risks. By understanding the potential impact of a risk, you can start planning around it. From modifying existing processes to creating intervention and mitigation strategies.

9. Empower management to make data-driven decisions

Make decisions based on facts, not instinct. Data science can process more sources, connect unrelated data points, and employ advanced algorithms. Together, processes and systems become ready for insights generation. As organizations collect and analyze big data, leaders and everybody else within the organization can benefit from actionable information. This enables them to make transparent and accurate decisions.

10. Grow fast with lean and agile processes

Accessing relevant insights for specific issues whenever you need them is critical for businesses. In data-driven marketing, speed is the second most-cited benefit for 67% of marketers. Once a system for generating actionable insights is in place, you can break silos within your organization. You can also unlock information for growth and streamline operations for speed. However, data synthesis for rapid insights discovery is one of the major pains that businesses face.

A new way towards a data-driven future

Data is reshaping markets, industries, and economies. To adapt to an ever-changing yet data-driven world, it is imperative to integrate data science capabilities into your strategies. Plus, the potential benefits are too huge to ignore. But how? To create significant value and differentiation, organizations need to synthesize data and unlock insights—fast and at scale. With Dealtale, you have a single platform to collect, analyze, optimize, and monitor all customer touchpoints across marketing, sales, and customer success. As a result, you can find answers in your customer data in an instant. Want to unlock powerful insights from your data? Activate Your Free Plan with Dealtale today.