What may have worked in the past, may not be working anymore.
Think about your car. To you, it might be the best car in the world and the thought of selling it or trading it in might bring a tear or two to your eye. Yet, there comes a time when all cars–regardless of how well they’re taken care of–need to be replaced. Whether it’s a change in your lifestyle, an increase in repairs, or a lack of modern features, it needs to be upgraded.
The same is true with your data analytics solution. Data solutions aren’t designed to last forever–even if they’re well maintained. There are common signs that indicate it might be time to upgrade your current system for something more robust. Below are five of them:
1. Your Data is Everywhere
It’s estimated that 328.77 million terrabytes of data are created every day. That’s an enormous amount of data, and it likely lives in a myriad of places throughout your organization. Additionally, if you’re relying on your IT department to create data reports, they may not have enough historical context to provide an accurate picture of how the company is doing. This can result in making decisions based on gut feelings or incomplete information. Your data analytics solution should be able to seamlessly access all data sources and turn the information into an insightful report.
2. Slow Processing Times
With how fast technology changes, you need access to data in real time,. If you’re relying on a traditional static data reporting solution, you’re likely only getting high-level information. And by the time you run reports, information may be outdated by the time they land on your desk.
You want a data analytics solution that can provide more dynamic, detailed reporting capabilities. For example, Microsoft Azure can collect data from various sources in real time and create an insightful, detailed report within a few minutes. You can then drill further into the information, providing you with a complete, detailed view of how your company’s performing.
3. Too Many Data Alerts
According to one survey, IT professionals report getting more than one million security alerts every day. It’s virtually impossible for IT teams to respond to that many alerts in a single day. In fact, 30% of those surveyed admitted to completely ignoring certain types of alerts while another 4 percent reported turning off alerts altogether. Ignoring alerts isn’t due to a lack of motivation as told by the alarmingly high number of alerts—many of which are false positives. Regardless, when alerts are ignored, it can lead to insurmountable losses in productivity, efficiency, security and more.
If your data analytics solution is continuously sending alerts, it’s time to upgrade. You’ll still want a solution that can alert you to data breaches or other security risks; however, when those alerts do go off, they need to be trustworthy. More importantly, your IT team needs to feel confident they’re responding to an actual issue. Only a high-quality data analytics solution can provide that confidence.
4. Lack of Actionable Data
The entire purpose of a data analytics solution is to provide insights into your company’s performance. More importantly; however, the solution needs to show how to improve your business. Solutions that only provide metrics or numbers are essentially useless. You need a data analytics solution that can thoroughly gather, clean, and present data in a way that encourages action.
5. No Confidence in Security
Perhaps the most telling sign that it’s time for a new data analytics solution is if you have a lack of confidence in the dashboards and insights that are presented. Consider this: if you create a report with inaccurate or missing data and pass it along to executives, doubt is cast across your entire organization. While the errors may not have been your fault, trust in data is lost—and it’s something that’s hard to get back.
High-quality data solutions ensure that all your data—no matter where it comes from—is error-free, up-to-date, and relevant. This is accomplished through in-depth data reliability measures, including end-to-end monitoring, advanced data policies, customizable data alerts, and more.
It’s Time to Invest in a High-Quality Data Solution
A high-quality data analytics solution should be the end goal for every organization—especially if you’re relying on data. Without one, you’re likely missing out on critical business opportunities that could significantly streamline your growth.
If you’re looking to move away from your current data analytics solution, contact JourneyTEAM. We’ll carefully analyze your existing data and tech stack to help you create a high-quality, high-performing data analytics solution.