The Importance of Data and KPIs in Driving Business Success
The Struggle of Distributed Information Systems and not having the right data
In today's fast-paced business world, companies face numerous challenges when it comes to managing data and information. One of the biggest obstacles is the lack of a centralised information platform, which can result in poor prioritisation, a lack of focus, and decreased efficiency. In this blog post, we'll explore the struggles that companies face with distributed and siloed information systems and the importance of having data and key performance indicators (KPIs) in driving business success.
Struggle #1: Poor Prioritisation
When companies don't have their information in one place, it can be difficult to prioritise tasks and projects. According to a study by McKinsey, companies waste up to 20% of their time searching for information they need to do their jobs. This lost time can result in missed opportunities, decreased profitability, and employee burnout.
Without an overview, it's challenging to get a clear understanding of which tasks and projects are most critical to business success. According to a study by PMI, 37% of projects fail due to a lack of clear goals and objectives. By having a centralised system that provides visibility into the current status and priorities, companies can ensure that they are focusing on the right tasks and projects.
Struggle #2: Lack of Focus
Information overload is a common problem in today's business world, for employees to become overwhelmed and lose focus. According to a study by RescueTime, employees spend an average of 2 hours and 48 minutes per day on distractions such as email, social media, and other non-work-related activities. It’s important to easily provide employees with access to the information they need at the right time, to do their jobs, companies can reduce the amount of time wasted on distractions. With clear goals and objectives, employees can better prioritise their tasks and stay focused on achieving business objectives.
Struggle #3: Decreased Efficiency
When companies don't have the right information, it can lead to inefficiencies, duplicated efforts, and missed opportunities. According to a study by IDC, companies lose 20 to 30% of their revenue each year due to inefficiencies. This lost revenue can result from missed opportunities, duplicated efforts, and other inefficiencies.
By connecting your commerce apps, spreadsheets and business bank accounts with CloudFO, companies can improve efficiency by reducing the time wasted searching for information and eliminating duplicated efforts. By having a clear understanding of business priorities and goals, employees can work more efficiently and effectively, resulting in increased profitability and decreased costs.
Importance of Data and KPIs
To address these challenges, companies need to have access to data and key performance indicators (KPIs) that provide insight into business performance. By having access to real-time data, companies can make informed decisions and adjust priorities as needed. KPIs provide a clear understanding of how the company is performing against its goals and objectives, which helps to keep employees focused on achieving business success.
According to a study by McKinsey, companies that prioritise their digital initiatives have a 1.8 times higher likelihood of being top performers in their industry. By improving data and KPI visibility, companies can make priority decisions quicker and drive business success.
References and further reading:
- McKinsey study on wasted time searching for information: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/the-social-economy
- PMI study on project failure due to lack of clear goals and objectives: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-failure-success-problem-definition-4814
- RescueTime study on employee distractions: https://blog.rescuetime.com/work-distractions-report/
- IDC study on revenue lost due to inefficiencies: https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=US40624918
- McKinsey study on digital initiatives: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/why-digital-strategies-fail