Data – Driving Organisations from Instinct to Insights

Data is currently the most valuable asset in an enterprise, it’s the tool with which organisations can better understand their processes, it can be used to create better operational efficiency, and it can be harnessed to learn more about customers to provide better experiences. All of this creates new opportunities to drive monetisation, develops a better understanding of how teams can work efficiently and drives innovation.

Today Data Management has expanded to encompass solutions that are hosted in the Cloud and enable automation that empowers business leaders to make faster, more informed decisions. As a result, the discipline of data management is a top priority for business executives, not just IT teams. 

Frederico Pravatta Rezende, Azure Data Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft shares with IT Integrity the importance of understanding data fundamentals, how organisations can establish a data culture, and the SQL pathways available to attain modern data platforms.

Today, we can capture data from social media, from sensors and from the systems that we have within our enterprises. By combining different types of data from different sources, we’re able to identify patterns that can help us improve our operations.

Frederico Pravatta Rezende, Azure Data Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft

Data fundamentals – the pillars of data practice

For organisations that are starting their data maturity journey, it is important to leverage the right partners. Identify a partner that understands the challenges of your sector and has proven experience in shaping organisational outcomes. Those working with modern data frameworks are becoming more and more strategic to business outcomes. As strategic partners to the business, these partners, individuals and departments need to understand how to best leverage modern data technologies.

Through the tools available, businesses can begin to capture and store data, and transform data of different types, from various sources, into information that can ultimately drive business decisions. Once the technology is understood, it’s all about the database and data flow. 

SQL Server is the most used database technology in the world. And today, other technologies can expand these environments to work with new types of data. These can work with any relational and non-relational data that are hosted either on Premises or in the Cloud.

Frederico Pravatta Rezende, Azure Data Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft

Once staff understand how to manage a database and DBA administrators are in place, organisations need to adopt new technologies that grow these environments and transform data into valuable business information. Analytics is key to this growth. 

Modern analytics tools in the Microsoft suite of solutions move organisations from a traditional business intelligence environment, which looks at historical data, to technologies that focus on a predictive, prescriptive approach, making them proactive, rather than reactive. Through this transition, a Chief Data Officer, someone that works hand-in-hand with the business leads to contribute and jointly decide how to implement strategies that can help them achieve more.

Establishing a data culture

Data culture is something that needs to first and foremost align with business objectives, as well as future growth plans to increase monetisation, drive better processes, and generate more innovation. 

Before establishing a data culture, organisations in the care services industries are going to need to begin by conducting a review of what is already running. This should involve: 

• Assessing the current environment
• Understanding where the gaps are
• Identifying which technologies can best help to reach the goals of the business.

Once tools have been identified to support the business goals, companies need to think about how to stop being reactive and start being more proactive towards their customers, their processes, their collaborators, their partners and the way that they create new offers. 

To adopt data culture, leave that reactive approach to be proactive, prescriptive and first to adopt strategies that will help to be top-of-mind, and gain more market share. Those that don’t adopt modern analytics technologies will lose their market eventually, or are at a big risk of losing market share if competitors adopt them first.

Frederico Pravatta Rezende, Azure Data Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft

SQL pathways to modern data platforms

There is the platform, and then there are the Microsoft partners. For the platform, customers that are looking to migrate or modernise their SQL Server environments have great options available. With SQL Pathways to the Cloud, even those running older versions of the SQL Server Platform can adopt modern technologies and transform the way they capture, store and interpret data into information. All of which is managed by Microsoft. 

Microsoft has SQL Server in Azure, which has a version that is called Azure SQL Database. As the SQL Database is based on a Platform-as-a-Service implementation, it is a fully managed solution. That means that Microsoft is the one that updates it, manages it, patches it.

Frederico Pravatta Rezende, Azure Data Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft

As a Microsoft Partner, IT Integrity works with care services businesses to help understand, migrate and modernise environments to Azure, leaving business leaders free to move into more strategic roles to understand their data and use this information to help drive better business decisions. 

With optimal Data Management organisations transform into proactive, innovative organisations, better aligned to the needs of their customers, optimised for growth. 

At ITAC2020 Microsoft, IT Integrity and MOQdigital hosted the Executive Data Masterclass.

Our masterclass panellists provided in-industry examples of data platform adoption, proving that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to modernise your data and meet changing compliance standards.

The information presented in the masterclass gave many attendees the confidence to start thinking about their own data strategy, as well as actionable strategies to implement in their businesses.

If you would like to start your journey towards a modern data strategy, you may be interested in IT Integrity’s service Instinct to Insights: Develop a Data Driven Business.

This service for care service organisations offers a roadmap to adopting modern Microsoft data platform and data analytics tools. These tools are the key to efficient data management and data driven decision-making in the care service industry.

How does Instinct to Insights: Develop a Data Driven Business propel care service organisations into modern data management?

IT Integrity can assist you in your adoption of Microsoft SQL as a Service:

• You don’t need to upgrade your system
• We’ll work with you to understand the data components needed in your organisation
• Gain greater operational insights
• Ensure your organisation meets baseline compliance and accreditation standards
• Start improving resource productivity with actionable reporting

Book your initial data assessment and recommendation workshop with IT integrity

This Microsoft stack is already helping businesses in care services. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to data management. Start making data-driven decisions and improving your operation. Contact IT Integrity today to find out more.