Data Analytics Thrives with IT Spring Cleaning

It’s May, when many of us take the opportunity for “Spring Cleaning,” at least here in the US. If you have not partaken in this ritual, you most likely spend more time looking for things than you should. In fact:

• The average American wastes 55 minutes a day (roughly 12 days a year) looking for things they own but can’t find. (Newsweek)
• Getting rid of clutter would eliminate 40% of the housework in the average home according to the National Soap & Detergent Association.

The same can be said for our digital houses at work.

• Employees spend 36% of the day looking for data. (IDC)
• The typical executive wastes 150 hours a year (almost an entire month), searching for lost information. For someone earning $50,000 a year, this loss is equivalent to $3,842 annually. (Forbes ASAP)

One could draw a parallel and conclude that IT departments would also benefit from “Spring Cleaning.” A clean data environment is the foundation of a more fruitful data analytics strategy. To get the most from your data, make sure to start with the business goal to get the most actionable insights. Have you done a sweep of all your data systems and do you know what are the most critical analytics within your organization?

With the digital universe expanding faster than current approaches can scale, and faster than employees can manage it, there is increasing pressure on IT leaders to support new business initiatives with real-time analytics.

Isabelle Guis, Egnyte

To get their arms around this new challenge and opportunity, the Chief Data Officer is a critical role that is becoming mainstream. There aren’t that many CDOs today and this could be an opportunity for IT leaders to step up, as well, and expand their responsibilities preparing their company for the future.

Because of this, the Data and Analytics track is new at Interop ITX this year, driven by the increasing need to learn best practices on how to leverage the mounds of data in and outside of their organizations to answer key business questions.

Are you ready for this Digital Transformation?   How do you accelerate current initiatives? Find out how, along with best practices by leading organizations like yours who are not only tackling but embracing these challenges.

All in 5 simple steps. Attend my session at Interop Understanding & Controlling Your Data Analytics in 5 Simple Steps, Friday, May 19, at 10:10 am.

Isabelle Guis is chief strategy officer for Egnyte. This blog originally appeared on her company's website Egnyte.com.