During Times of Economic Recession BI is Lifesaver

Aug 24, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic ended the business-as-usual model. Now companies must quickly change and become more virtual, digital-centric, and agile. Experts are saying that business intelligence (BI) could become a lifesaver during the recession.

Obviously, we all wish the pandemic hadn’t happened. However, when it comes to digital transformation, COVID-19 gave all of us a reality check. This forced us to invest in tech like never before.

Companies that are moving out of the crisis are the ones that are investing in tech, data, and new processes. This enable companies to get more insights and improve decision-making in a lightning-fast speed.

The adoption of BI has been steadily rising over the years even before the pandemic. With COVID-19, the use of BI, along with AI and cloud services, will surge.

Data-driven decision-making is among the top five key elements of success in the new world of business. It is no more about past experiences and gut feeling, only data can provide right decisions.

BI is a lifesaver

“The road to recovery is paved with data,” said Kate Smaje, a senior partner and global co-leader of McKinsey Digital.

Another key element of success, identified by McKinsey, is being customer centric. There is research showing that customers are becoming increasingly disloyal. Having so much choice, as a great deal of shopping has shifted online. Consumers are displaying what marketers call pervasive promiscuity.

This means to stay relevant and successfully compete with others, companies need to change their approach. Companies must sustain a comprehensive focus on their customers needs.

Data is closely related to being customer centric. Modern BI tools are great at finding insights on customer pain points and their desires. By using BI tools, companies can use data to gain more insights on their existing customer base and generate economic gains.

Finally, embracing transformation should go hand-in-hand with learning new skills. With all the shifts happening, there will be changes for everyone’s workforce and companies must take re-skilling seriously.

Now is not the time for incremental changes. This is the time for being massively transformational and throw everything on the table. Little tweaking here and there won’t suffice. On the contrary, you ought to challenge and change all existing assumptions, old value chain models, product delivery structures. This will help to reinvent an organization.

Is it easy to do? Of course, not. You may fail, ideas might dry out or your expertise may not be enough to pull off a successful transformation. Whatever path you end up taking, a clear understanding of the situation is necessary. The first thing you could do is to invest into a better BI system, which will show you all the details and provide insights. Knowing is winning half the battle.

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