On Valentine’s Day, we publish an article that you might not immediately expect from us. We want to talk about the love of data. After all, it is Love Data Week. We asked six companies to talk about their love for data and why businesses should continue to pay attention to it.
More and more companies are recognizing the valuable nature of their data and are starting to take better care of it. “Data are the basis of all kinds of decision-making processes in companies around the world. They are the basis on which strategies are built, direction is chosen and innovations are pursued. Therefore, the importance of continuously observing data quality and ensuring its reliability is paramount,” stated Dwight Maanster, Country Manager at Dynatrace.
Analyze data
Companies can learn a lot from their data, we hear from Daniel Hofman, Area Vice President of the Netherlands at ServiceNow. For example, a company’s way of working can be tested against the data. In this way, everyone learns to work smarter. “And working smarter means higher productivity, lower costs and more innovation.” To do that, though, you have to put theory into practice. “If data is measurable, then you can see, for example, where and when you can cut costs, where you can improve and which processes you can automate,” adds Ekrem Koç, Sales Director Benelux and Turkey at DataCore.
Data can further help you find differentiators against your competitors. “With data you can make smart and fast decisions, distinguish yourself, grow and surprise,” states Rob van Kerpel, Division Director Data Solutions at Cegeka.
AI helps with data analysis
Companies have learnt to love data. However, they still often find it difficult to extract the right insights from the large amounts of data they have. Yet, this is important to get the promised benefits of analyzing data. “Fortunately, with the advent of AI, we are increasingly able to give organizations this insight, allowing them to actually work smarter,” says Hofman.
Examples of how AI is helping companies work smarter are plentiful. Maanster knows how to name a few: “AI data analytics can help development teams release software faster and with higher quality. AI-enabled chatbots can help customer teams assess customer problems more efficiently. And security teams can use AI to proactively address potential threats to their IT environments.”
Data is the breeding ground
At the same time, it technologies such as AI, along with telemetry and cloud services that make enterprise data indispensable. Data is the breeding ground. AI shows that data is applicable in many more ways than we previously thought, Koç argues. So it’s not a bad idea to take good care of it.
“With that, the AI revolution is actually a data revolution. There is no organization that is not currently thinking about or developing a strategy for using AI to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve customer satisfaction. The potential is enormous, and organizations that do not co-invent risk falling behind,” states a Salesforce spokesperson.
The breeding ground that forms data for technologies such as AI has to contain the right raw materials. According to Salesforce, “effective and responsible use of data” is a good foundation. This interpretation may be different at each company. The company itself translates this into a commitment to solutions that are accessible and inclusive, while with generative AI, just accuracy is one of the most important aspects to the foundation.
Hackers know the value of data
In the digital world, data can also be gone very quickly. In fact, hackers are primarily out to get their victims’ data. Whether for ransom or to steal IP, it’s all about data. “It is essential to treat data lovingly. It means cherishing, protecting and valuing every bit and byte, because they are the core of a business,” stated Edwin Weijdema, Field CTO EMEA at Veeam. 2023 proved that once again; according to recent research, the number of ransomware attacks reached a new record high in 2023. During these attacks, hackers attempt to encrypt corporate data and thus make it inaccessible to businesses.
Weijdema knows exactly what can help against such attacks: “Loving data means implementing robust backup and recovery solutions.” Backups reduce the impact of a ransomware attack on business continuity.
“If you don’t handle your data lovingly, it knocks things down and sours the relationship. Someone else can then run off with your data, and then it will be used against you. Make sure you are well prepared and protect it,” concludes Koç.
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