Data breaches are becoming more common than ever. The International Association of Privacy Professionals reports that there were 1,862 data breaches in 2021 alone. This figure is growing by the year.
Organizations must make data security a top priority. Those that do not risk bankruptcy, as the costs of data breaches are horrifying.
Rising Data Breaches Have Made Greater Data Security a Necessity
Data is often dubbed as a digital gold in the modern era. No organization or business can function without processing relevant data. Additionally, in many countries, corporations are legally obliged to maintain certain data security standards to ensure that their employees’ and consumers’ data are safe.
Additionally, when we classify the data that these corporations hold, we find that some of them are so sensitive that they are central to the operation. Therefore, data security has become the need of the hour. With the evolution of digital technology, cybercrime has also evolved.
Hackers have advanced tools and equipment to get into the company servers and extract crucial information. Such information is openly traded in the black market leading to a huge loss of profit. In this article, we will try to decipher the reasons behind organizations’ newfound obsession with data security.
A cyber-attack can hurt your company’s image in the market. Today, it is crucial for businesses to have an online presence, which means they collect tons of consumer data. Therefore, loss of data due to a cyber-attack would mean that your company does not value its consumers’ privacy and does not implement the necessary steps to ensure data protection.
Usually, we find that the majority of cyber-attack victims are small businesses that are complacent with their data security measures. Small companies tend to think they are not under the radar, so they can’t be the target of cybercrimes, which is not true. Cybercriminals attack small corporations because it is easier to gain access to all the sensitive information.
Moreover, it is hard for such businesses to recover from the financial loss due to cyber-attacks. However, we are not implying here that large corporations with enough funds at their disposal are safe. Even if you have a cushion in place to recover from financial loss due to cyberattacks, why waste your resources? Also, we cannot forget the social implications of a data breach in the modern world.
Data is a crucial company asset
As stated earlier, data is the digital gold in the modern era. Your business’s success or failure depends on your collection and processing of relevant data. Companies use data to develop their marketing and pricing models and gain access to a larger consumer base. As the threat of data breaches grows, companies must raise the bar with their data security measures.
Moreover, companies that interact with consumers directly rely on their data to provide them with better services and products. Additionally, a lot of sensitive business information is exchanged digitally.
Such information includes financial data, quarterly reports, upcoming business strategies, marketing strategies, etc. A well-established corporation would not want such data to fall into the hands of its competitors. A leak of such data could result in irreparable losses.
Other crucial company information includes risk mitigation procedures, revenue optimization, etc. Needless to say, a company relies on such data for its present and future performance. Therefore, it is safe to say that data is a crucial company asset.
To avoid unnecessary expenditures
A company’s success is based on the principle of profit maximization. So, it is the goal of every business to improve the margin on their products and services. Margin expansion is not always done by selling more goods and services and market infiltration.
A business also needs to bring down its operations costs to improve the annual net profits. Data loss could cost a company a fortune, especially when we focus on the fact that data loss will hurt the company’s image.
Employee and consumer confidential information is the responsibility of the company. Any loss of such data to stunt the growth of an organization in the future. Therefore, it is crucial to invest in robust data security posture management solutions.
Hackers are one step ahead of you
Many companies hire a dedicated cyber security team to ensure that they align with government regulations and compliances. However, it has been observed that cyber security teams are often helpless if they do not have proper infrastructural support.
Today, hackers have automated the attack mechanisms. They use bots to constantly attack a system. These bots gain access to the system the moment the cyber security team falls short of action.
Also, the bots are also used to create a diversion so that access to other sensitive information could be gained. Seeing how the hackers have evolved with the technology, it is only fitting to invest in data security solutions irrespective of the size of the company.
The company’s reputation is at stake
We have constantly emphasized the importance of company image. When a consumer interacts with an organization’s portal, he furnishes sensitive information such as personal and financial details. That is to say — the consumer trusts the corporations to take good care of his data. This trust is important if an organization wants to have a stable business. Now, a reputable organization would not sell its consumers’ data for some short-term gain.
However, a data leak is bound to put the company into the spotlight, which is not good for its reputation. A data breach has the potential to adversely affect a company’s future. We cannot assign a monetary value to a reputation that takes years to build. Therefore, it is crucial to have a proper data security solution in place.
Data integrity is important
Data integrity refers to the originality of data. If data is compromised, it can lead to some variations from the original, which is not good for business operations.
Data security solutions ensure the consolidation of data on a centralized server, which ensures proper protection and easy accessibility.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) have certainly come a long way in recent times. Towards Data Science published an article on some of the biggest developments in machine learning over the past century. One of the most remarkable changes has been the Named Entity Recognition tool, which can differentiate between the capitalization rules of German and English.
A number of new applications are making machine learning technology more robust than ever. Not only are these applications capable of processing vast amounts of data per second, but they enjoy many practical applications. These have likewise impacted the average consumer as well as the business community. One extremely innovative and far-reaching advancement can be seen in the form of an annotation tool platform (such as that which is offered by Kili Technology). As the majority of readers might not be familiar with this concept, it warrants a closer look.
What is the relation of data and image annotation to machine learning? What are its primary applications and what specific benefits does this approach have to offer? Let us examine each of these questions in greater detail immediately below.
Data Labeling and Annotation at a Glance
As the term may already suggest, this type of data annotation involves the process of assigning a value to specific portions of a piece of data. It is a great way to use data for quality control purposes. These metrics are then used to aid machine learning processes. In other words, the system in question is able to better understand what it is being presented with. Note that annotation can interpret various file types. These include (but are not necessarily limited to):
ImagesAudio filesVideosTextPDF documents
There are several ways in which this labeling can be performed. In-house methods through the use of proprietary software systems may be used. Automatic scripts could also be used (although these normally require additional human intervention). Alternatively, data annotation can be outsourced to trust third-party platforms.
What Advantages Does this Technique Offer?
There are several reasons why data annotation is becoming commonplace. As this article observes, some primary benefits include:
Data labeling allows machine learning systems to be better trained, and therefore more efficientAccurate data helps to “train” algorithms, ensuring greater degrees of precision in the future.Cutting-edge annotation packages drastically reduce the amount of human intervention required. This helps to streamline many processes.
We can therefore see that data annotation is capable of reducing the costs associated with past techniques that would have required manual intervention.
A Host of Interesting Applications
We have already taken a decidedly abstract look at data annotation. It is now prudent to examine some of its numerous real-world applications. Perhaps the most prominent involves business automation. As many CRM (customer relationship management) systems now rely upon artificial intelligence, accurate data and image labeling make it much easier to identify important documents and files. However, the benefits are not limited to the business community. Labeling and annotation services can be used to recognize specific images (such as the license plate of a vehicle or even individual faces). These are some of the more tangible applications.
While data annotation will often occur “behind the scenes”, its impacts upon AI and machine learning cannot be denied. It will therefore be quite interesting to see what the future may have in store.
Make the Most of Data Annotations
Data technology is changing significantly significantly. One of the biggest trends has been in the realm of data annotations. Companies need to know how annotations work and how to use them.
Analytics technology has shaped many aspects of modern business. According to a report we cited last year, 67% of businesses with revenues exceeding $10,000 a year use data analytics. One of the most important reasons companies are investing in analytics technology is to improve their understanding of their customers.
However, now all customer analytics technology is created equal. Some tools do an exceptional job understanding the mindset of customers as they make decisions, while others struggle to get more meaningful insights.
One of the better customer analytics tools on the market is CCAAS. This platform makes it easier for companies to communicate with their customers. This, in turn, allows them to aggregate data on their customers and use it for future decisions. What is this platform and how can it help companies understand their customers?
What is CCAAS and How Does it Work
Any firm must now prioritize customer experience. Even with the best features and prices, you won’t engage your audience without engaging experiences. Here comes the call center. Contact centers are the hub of company-customer interactions. Traditional contact centers may not be as effective as they previously were. They must use reliable customer analytics tools to better understand their customer behavior and optimize the buying process. In addition to analytics tools, they must use contact management services to make it easier to accumulate data.
A typical contact center as a service makes it tough to evolve quickly as your marketplace and customers’ needs change. Growing companies can be hampered by cumbersome, expensive equipment. CCaaS cloud-based contact centers ease rapid transition. Let’s understand in this article what is ccaas.
What’s and How’s of CCAAS?
Contact Center as a Service is referred to as CCaaS. This is a cloud-based solution for offering all of a company’s contact center software without complex infrastructure or provisioning. CCaaS systems are frequently intended to operate with your existing technology and external devices for remote workers.
CCaaS technology also provides all necessary tools for any contact center, such as call routing, recording, and management systems. However, it allows you to expand your functionality and even add more personnel to your contact center whenever you want.
This may imply gaining access to:
Call analytics and customer experience trackingCall recording and management systemsArtificial intelligence and virtual assistantsIntelligent IVR and call routingCRM connectors and other essential add-onsWorkforce management and optimization
While CCAAS is not an analytics tool itself, it is necessary for companies trying to create a sufficient customer analytics platform. By making it easier to stay in touch with customers, companies can easily build a repository of data on them.
What is the evolution of CCaaS technology?
Contact centers were previously constructed on software platforms hosted and maintained on-premises. These systems necessitated significant human capital investment as well as ongoing maintenance costs.
Early CCaaS solutions allowed contact center agents to access systems using a web browser, which decreased maintenance expenses while increasing scalability and flexibility. These systems are based on Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, enabling internet-based calls to traditional phone numbers. However, there were other limitations, including the systems’ inability to interact with some third-party programmes, slow-release upgrades, and lengthy development cycles.
Advantages of CCaaS for Customer Analytics
You have a better understanding of what CCaaS is now. But what are the benefits for companies trying to use it to improve their customer analytics platform?
As the cloud technology that enables CCaaS continues to grow, so do the experiences that organizations can create in this environment. Leading industry suppliers are developing new technologies that are more intuitive and informative than ever before to improve both user and the customer experience in the cloud.
In some cases, providers are merging other cloud-based as-a-service technologies to provide a more comprehensive single-pane-of-glass environment for the contact center. Among the most appealing CCaaS developments right now are:
The entire aaS environment:
Contact Center as a Service is a solution that is increasingly being offered as an add-on to the UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) environment by business leaders. As businesses strive to reduce the number of tools that employees must switch between to be productive, we can expect to see an increase in configurable as-a-service stacks, aided by technology such as CPaaS and APIs for more modular control.
Workforce Optimization and Management:
Workforce optimization and management tools are becoming more popular as business leaders investigate remote and distant working possibilities. WFM and WFO technology integrated into the contact center provides a complete picture of how all teams are performing, whether they are inside or outside the office. These tools can also facilitate gamification, using scoreboards and leaderboards to keep team members engaged.
Analytics and customer journey mapping:
Analytics have the potential to be an interesting new addition to the contact center experience. As businesses continue to collect massive volumes of data through omnichannel engagements in the cloud, analytics tools will provide important insights. These insights could help determine clients’ distinct processes when completing a purchase from your company. Analytics enables organizations to trace client journeys and offer better experiences from beginning to end.
AI and Virtual Assistants: We’re still far from artificial intelligence replacing human contact center agents. However, in the CCaaS environment, corporate leaders can use AI technology to empower their workforce. Speech recognition services, for example, can track the sentiment of a voice and identify when an agent requires additional assistance. AI can also track trending inquiries or use speech biometrics to surface helpful information agents need to contextualize a discussion. Increased security: The introduction of new biometrics and speech recognition technology may open the door to new techniques of contact center security. Toll fraud and other similar issues have long plagued the call center industry. Business executives might limit the danger of letting the wrong persons access critical consumer information by using unique voice fingerprints and other analytical tools.
CCaaS Vendors
The great majority of current CCaaS vendors are communication firms that seek to give their customers the ideal combination of internal and external communication alternatives. More manufacturers and service providers are beginning to incorporate CCaaS into their offerings as part of a comprehensive cloud-based portfolio.
Remember to check for the following characteristics in a CCaaS vendor:
Migration assistance: If you’re transitioning from an on-premise contact center to a cloud solution, you’ll need a vendor to make the transition as easy as possible. Look for a company that can give a phased approach if necessary and hybrid technology and software that works on any endpoint. Flexible provisioning: The best cloud-based contact center environment for you will be determined by your business and the type of experience you want to provide to your audience. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution, so ensure that your vendor offers the best plan for you. This could include considering hosted solutions, multi-tenancy, and other options. Reliability: Keep in mind that your contact center is at the heart of your customer experience strategy. You must ensure that it will continue to function correctly regardless of what happens. Any growing firm must look for a vendor with high guaranteed uptime and a commitment to robust reliability and redundancy.
Why do I require CCaaS?
The global cloud-based contact center market is expected to be worth $20.93 billion by 2022. That implies several opportunities for both existing vendors and new players entering the CCaaS industry. As the market demand for cloud contact centers to maintain business continuity and growth grows, there will be a plethora of CCaaS companies to select from.
Our CCaaS evaluations can help you learn about the features and benefits of some of the most popular systems on the market today. We’ll walk you through the industry’s top performers so you can make a better-informed decision for your team.
Feature set:
A modern CCaaS infrastructure is more than call management. You may also need to think about a variety of different disruptive qualities.
Security:
All contact center systems require appropriate security measures. Some businesses will provide encryption for all of your communications and discussions. However, you’ll also need to consider where the information collected in your contact center is maintained and how you’ll stay in compliance with your industry’s requirements. You might also look into technologies for combating toll fraud and reducing data breaches
Integrations:
Integrations are vital in making the modern contact center more appealing and versatile. Your contact center may require integration with your collaboration tools or your existing UC stack. The more everything works together, the easier it will be to keep track of all your devices and preserve labor productivity. A contact center that interfaces with your CRM is a fantastic starting point.
CCaaS is Vital for Companies Trying to Create a Customer Analytics Platform
A number of new technological developments are helping improve customer analytics technology. CCaaS is among them.
By 2022, the worldwide cloud contact center industry is expected to be worth $20,93 billion. That implies that there’s a lot of opportunities out there for both incumbent vendors and new players entering the CCaaS industry. As the demand for cloud contact centers to maintain business continuity and growth rises, you’ll have a number of CCaaS vendors to choose from.
FAQs
What is CCaaS in cloud computing?
CCaaS refers to a Contact Centre as a Service. This is a cloud-based method for supplying all the software that a firm needs for its contact center, without the need for complex hardware or provisioning.
In what ways does a call center hosted in the cloud operate effectively?
A provider owns and operates contact center technology as part of a network-based service called cloud-based call centers. Thereby giving its services remotely to businesses on a subscription model. Cloud-based call centers are presenting an innovative solution to handle the challenges of your business.
What’s the difference between UCaaS with CCaaS?
UCaaS connects an organization’s employees to one another, whereas CCaaS connects customer support and sales agents to the company’s clients. UCaaS can be used to replace existing private branch exchange phone systems, as it provides more channels than only cloud calling for businesses.
Is it profitable to run a call center?
According to firstresearch.com, US call centers bring in a total of around $21 billion yearly, with an average revenue of $4 million. To get an exact estimate, you’ll need to know how much each contract is worth, but once you’ve landed several high-profile customers, you can expect to start making money.
How much does a call center owner earn?
Senior Call Center Executives make an average of 2.4 lakhs per year and are paid on par with mid-career executives who have 4-9 years of experience, earning an average of 2.2 lakhs per year.
Small businesses are facing more challenges than ever. The recent economic crisis is not showing any signs of abating any time soon. Fortunately, companies can use big data to optimize their business models.
One of the most important ways for brands to improve their profitability with data analytics is through conversion rate optimization. They can use data to get a better understanding of their customers and future trends, which will help them create the best offers and reach the most interested buyers.
Data Analytics is Invaluable for Companies Trying to Improve their Conversions
Big brands always had and will tend to overshadow local businesses. Companies like Amazon and Walmart dominating the e-commerce and land-based business territories is a classic example of it. But, does it have to mean you, as an owner of a local business, don’t have any resort for continuing and thriving your venture?
Indeed, there’s one. The good news is that data analytics technology can help level the playing field. The ROI of data-driven initiatives is very high, which helps companies improve their profitability.
The most effective way to rejuvenate your local business is by strengthening your lead generation endeavor, Data analytics technology can help in the following ways:
You can use data from CRMs, social media and other sources to better understand customer needs. This will help you create more targeted offers to entice new leads.You can procure data from analytics tools to optimize your landing pages to maximize conversions.You can use data analytics dashboards on your digital advertising platforms to focus on the best converting traffic, such as the PPC keywords that drive the most sales.
Paying close attention to the right metrics in Google Analytics can help a lot. Various digital marketing strategies would give you with the option of positioning your brand on a global plane. But, the approach we will discuss in the following section is more focused on your targeted market and is helpful in receiving high-impact leads. You can use data analytics to make the following strategies more effective.
1. Use Data Mining to Find the Best Strategies for Local SEO
Search Engine Optimization is a method of acquiring higher ranks in search results of engines like Google. A higher ranking means more visitors to your website, resulting in more leads. However, local SEO is much different than its global counterpart. In this case, search engines find appropriate results from social profile pages, citations, local content, and links.
To ensure your local SEO efforts, you need to check whether your web presence’s internal linking is well-structured, mobile-friendliness, rate of social media engagement and other factors.
There are two very important ways to use data analytics to get the most of your local SEO strategy. You can use data mining tools to find the best keywords to target. Tools like SEMRush and Ahrefs also have data analytics tools to help you reverse engineer your competitors’ linkbuilding strategies by analyzing their link profiles.
2. Positioning Localized Lead Magnet
A lead magnet is a sort of incentive that can acquire the contact information of prospective leads. Now, when it’s considered one of the most effective ways of generating quality leads, it won’t come to your benefit if the lead magnet isn’t localized. It means you won’t be able to convert leads residing in the UK if your business is based somewhere like Dallas-Fort Worth. Hence, when creating a generic lead magnet, it is important to stay focused on the very local market you are interested in.
An outsourcing agency like Pearl Lemon Leads is capable of feeding your business with convertible leads with their well-devised lead-generating campaigns. Therefore, local businesses tend to outsource their lead generation Dallas-Fort Worth to such agencies.
If you want to create your own lead magnets, data analytics can help. Many people want to download spreadsheets or reports that have useful data, such as keywords for their own marketing campaigns. You can use data analytics tools to create these reports.
3. Use AI to Promote a Local Giveaway Program or Contests
Running a contest in your area and offering prizes to winners is considered one of the most effective utensils for lead generation for businesses. It might seem fairly similar to lead magnets, as both of these measures give valid reasons to people for sharing their contact information. However, they become competitive to win a prize they want to have in this case. Always ensure to give prizes related to the products or services your business offers in this case.
You can use AI technology to help promote your giveaway. You will be able to streamline promotional messages on social media through tools like Hootsuite.
4. Use Data Analytics to Optimize Your Landing Pages
Keeping a form on your business website’s landing page is very important for lead generation. Therefore, you should make necessary changes to keep a form asking for visitors’ contact information on your website.
Regardless, as you know, nothing is available for free. Therefore, accumulating leads from your website form will also require you to offer something to visitors in exchange. For it, you can give away webinars, eBooks, whitepapers, and more.
Big data technology is having a huge impact on the state of modern business. The technology surrounding big data has evolved significantly in recent years, which means that smart businesses will have to take steps to keep up with it. One of the biggest breakthroughs for data-driven businesses has been the development of data activation.
What is Data Activation?
Data activation is a new and exciting way that businesses can think of their data. It’s more than just data that provides the information necessary to make wise, data-driven decisions. It’s more than just allowing access to data warehouses that were becoming dangerously close to data silos. Data activation is about giving businesses the power to make data serve them. That entails a lot of different things, from orchestration and access to automation and tracking.
Data activation is an exciting tool for companies to take advantage of to use their data to its fullest potential. If you have been wondering what data activation is and how it could be helpful. Here is everything you need to know about data activation, which is one of the biggest big data trends of 2022. .
It Started Reverse ETL
Companies will spend over $55 billion on big data this year in the United States alone. This is driving the demand for new data management technologies, which has spurred the need for data activation. ETL is the source of its origin.
To understand how data activation is unique and where it can help your business in powerful ways, you have to start with reverse ETL. ETL is a form of data integration into a warehouse. When a company begins to create data, and it accumulates in a way that is either inaccessible or so disparate that it cannot be useful, it aggregates in what is known as a data silo.
These silos have valuable data that either isn’t in the right format or is just not accessible to the company and poses a problem to companies that wish to use their data productively. The age-old solution to a data silo has always been the data warehouse. This is a solution for taking data out of a silo, transforming it into a uniform, usable format, and then placing it in a warehouse where it is accessible.
ETL itself stands for Extract, Translate, Load. This title mirrored the steps of extracting data from a silo, translating it into an accessible format, and then loading it into a warehouse where it becomes a source of truth across an entire company.
Over time, however, data warehouses and lake houses began to suffer from the same problems that silos did. As a result, this data became hard to access and, in some cases, even impossible for a company to use as a source of truth. There were several factors for this, one of them being that only people who knew SQL could even access this data in the first place.
That is when Hightouch developed a solution that would come to be called reverse ETL. Put simply, this solution helped to move data out of a warehouse and across a company’s departments. This allowed different departments within a company to have access to data vital for making good, customer-based decisions.
Because reverse ETL was so successful, it began to be something that unlocked new possibilities for companies. As they continued to use it, Hightouch was able to stay up to date with how to reverse ETL was impacting a company’s data usage. This led to understanding how things could be improved and what could be added to improve this system.
From Reverse ETL to Data Activation
After nearly two years of working hand in hand with reverse ETL, Hightouch was able to produce what is now being called Data Activation. Data Activation has all the great benefits of Reverse ETL. Still, it continues to give developers, engineers and departments the tools they need to get the most out of the data that belongs to their company.
The shift from reverse ETL to data activation came through operational analytics. Operational analytics focused on not only getting data to a department but giving those departments the ability to make data work. That meant allowing for automation of tasks based on customer interactions.
There was confusion over semantics. Operational Analytics sounded like a solution for retroactive decision-making. Collecting data and looking back over it and using this information to make decisions. Data Activation is more in line with what Operational Analytics is meant to be.
This allowed companies to set automation in motion that helped departments see a clearer, more precise view of their customer in real-time. In addition, this tracked data across an entire company to give departments the ability to improve customer relations as they happened and not only have the looking back at accumulated data.
Conclusion
Hightouch continues to work closely with its clients to make the best tools on the market for helping businesses use their data effectively. Giving companies the tools to use their data to help improve customer experience, win over potential customers, and grow is what Data Activation aims to do.
One of the most buzzing terminologies of this decade has got to be “data analytics.” Companies generate unlimited data every day, and there is no end to the data collected over time. This content can be in the form of log content, transactional content, social media data, and customer—related data.
Companies need all of this data in a structured manner to improve their decision—making capabilities. Additionally, one can derive the most value out of this data by using it to boost their career performance. Data analytics helps in meeting these goals.
Data analytics consists of processes examining data sets to find trends and conclusions from the information. The speed and efficiency of your business improve once you notice patterns and discover insightful data needed for business predictions. Therefore, data analytics is undoubtedly the most sought—after science field today.
How can data analytics be used for bolstering career performance?
It never hurts to have extra skills to make work easier, which is why professionals seek the help of data analytics to recognize work patterns. The analysis helps them understand how the quality of work can be improved and change the present circumstances in the workplace. For career prospects also, companies are turning towards analytics to make safer decisions.
The following reasons make it easier to understand why more businesses are incorporating data analytics to enhance performance:
1. Data analytics is prevalent in all sectors
The top industries that rely heavily on data analytics are Information Technology services, Manufacturing and Retail businesses, and Finance and Insurance companies. However, data analytics is now used across all domains and sectors.
For better career prospects, data analytics can aid in predicting upcoming developments in different industries. As a result, you can look for opportunities in the sector you are interested in. You can avail yourself of the benefits of career development before anyone else.
2. Data analytics acts as a catalyst for artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is another buzzing terminology of today. Most people don’t know that data analytics serves as a foundation for companies that want to develop artificial intelligence—related projects. This is because AI uses the same techniques and processing capabilities that data analytics resources use.
3. Data analytics makes marketing strategies successful
Data analytics takes a big chunk of information, derives valuable insights, and tests the results on a sample audience group. Marketing strategies can use the same method to understand consumer trends and behaviors. Companies can thereby produce compelling pitches for their products/services and develop sure—shot marketing strategies.
4. Data analytics increases the revenue of the business
As data analytics helps see the changing dynamics much ahead of time, companies can upgrade themselves accordingly. This ensures that the company is always at the top of its game and never loses brilliant opportunities. Eventually, everything works towards generating more revenue for the business.
How can companies use data analytics for their employees?
If you are running on a money and time budget, using data analytics to speed up work is the best call you can take. When you bridge the gap between job tasks and quantitative abilities, you will get a tangible input of what level of performance is required to accomplish the job.
Organizations can use the following strategies to apply data analytics at work for better performance management:
1. Generate accurate employee feedback
The future of performance management includes both employee feedback and data analytics. For example, instead of providing work reviews at scheduled times during the year, companies can apply real—time reviews and check—ins to improve engagement.
Resources like HR assessments and PR reviews can help employees understand their shortcomings and biggest strengths. Additionally, Leapsome’s feedback examples can be used for effective employee feedback management. The human touch will always be an integral part of the process, even if data analytics takes over completely.
2. Measure employee performance
Companies can use data analytics tools to set benchmarks for employee performance. Apart from professional data, inputs on travel data and billing hours can help them plan both professional and personal priorities, significantly when it impacts their wellness. Employees meeting those benchmarks can guide others in an optimal career performance.
3. Apply analytical diligence
You can apply data analytics to plan talent and work on the performance management of your employees. With the results, you can invest in the right tools needed to sharpen the skills and enhance the productivity of those falling back. In addition, this analysis can help the HR department describe their job requirements accurately and find the right people for the job.
4. Personalize workforce environment
Data analysis can help understand employee data and provide them with a unique workplace environment. Letting people know that their data is used for analysis helps retain their trust. Eventually, you will be able to create a safe space for your employees where they can work as per their suitability.
5. Perform unbiased recruitment processes
Data analytics can help in recognizing those groups that face unconscious bias. By representing those groups, you will be able to broaden the talent pool in your workspace. In addition, analytics and digital engagement can help understand those algorithms and decisions concerning the company.
6. Inform employees about promotion and salary decisions
Nothing puts off an individual more than seeing an undeserving candidate get what they deserve, especially in a workplace. However, promoting the wrong candidate can demotivate the rest of the team members. Data analytics can help managers rate the proficiency and the capability of those employees who either deserve a promotion or a raise.
7. Understand attrition and increase retention
Performance—based analytics can be applied to foresee those employees that are likely to leave their jobs and what factors can contribute to attrition. For example, money may not always be the factor to be blamed. Other factors like smaller teams or longer wait for promotions or raises can be equally responsible.
Summarizing data analytics and its effect on career performance
While intelligent data analytics metrics certainly help HR professionals, it still doesn’t take away the importance of the human role in upgrading career performance. The most successful way of integrating data analytics is through a proper organizational design. This design will guide future decisions, specify skillsets needed and upskill employees to perform well in their chosen career path.
One of the most stunning facts revealed by the new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has been our acceptance of polluted air. Skies in the world’s largest cities turned a color that astonished many residents when personal vehicle miles plummeted dramatically. At the same time, scientists discovered that poor air quality might raise coronavirus susceptibility.
Big data technology has helped us make these findings. It will also help develop solutions.
These findings underscore how years of awareness-raising about the dangers of climate change have turned into action to protect public health. It also reveals how little we still understand about how our air quality affects our health. In the wake of the pandemic, it is more important than ever to invest in research to improve our understanding of the link between air quality and health so that we can take steps to protect ourselves from future pandemics.
Now that some parts of the world are starting to look like they did before the lockdown, people are talking about trying to keep this improvement in air quality. Lots of people want better air quality, so cities might need better data on air quality to make new decisions about policy.
Fortunately, the past five years have seen significant progress in air quality monitoring for smart cities. Big data is going to make or break smart cities and it can help solve environmental challenges they face. Smart cities should follow the guidelines outlined below when capturing air quality data:
1. Increase data resolution
In order to improve air quality, cities need to have better data resolution. This means that cities need to measure the air quality at many different locations instead of just a few. This is important because the concentrations of pollutants can vary a lot from one place to another in a city.
For years, the only way to measure air quality was to take samples of the air and send them to a laboratory for analysis. However, this process was slow and expensive. In recent years, sensors that can measure air quality in real-time have been developed. These sensors are typically small and portable, making them easy to use in a variety of settings. In addition, they are relatively inexpensive, making them a valuable tool for monitoring air quality.
While many cities rely on physically deployed sensors to collect data, there are other options available that come with their own advantages and disadvantages. One option is mobile surveying, which can provide a much larger albeit less complete profile over time. These surveys usually involve the use of car-mounted sensors, but some cities are breaking the trend by using municipal trucks, drones, and bike-share bikes for mobile surveying.
As cities wrestle with the problem of air pollution, some are looking to cutting-edge technology for help. Air quality sensors are becoming increasingly commonplace, providing valuable data on local conditions. However, these sensors can only cover a limited area, leaving gaps in the data. Environmental data companies are now using fluid dynamics models to fill in these gaps and predict air quality for any point. This method is still in its infancy, and there are concerns about its accuracy. However, it is an inexpensive option that could be used in conjunction with other methods to improve air quality data.
2. Measure ROI of air quality sensors
Air quality monitoring is an important tool for cities to protect public health, but the question of how to pay for it can be difficult to answer. There are many different air quality measurement technologies available, and each has its own benefits and drawbacks. Some technologies are more expensive than others, but they may also be more accurate or provide more data. Ultimately, the decision of which technology to use depends on the specific needs of the city and the availability of funding. Here isa good guide on how to measure air quality.
There are many options for financing air quality monitoring projects, including grants, loans, and private investment. The best option for any given city will depend on the available resources and the level of need. Whatever the method of financing, it is important that cities invest in air quality monitoring to protect public health and improve air quality.
ROI can be measured in different ways. One way is to look at the economic benefits that come from people not getting sick as often. This includes things like less time spent at the doctor or hospital, and less money spent on medicine. Another way to measure ROI is to look at how much air pollution costs our economy every year. Air pollution cost the US economy around $900 billion in 2019, equivalent to 5% of GDP.
Reducing air pollution could therefore have a significant positive impact on a city’s economy. In addition, improving air quality would also lead to better health outcomes for residents, which would also reduce healthcare costs. As cities continue to grapple with the effects of air pollution, it is important to consider both the human and economic costs of this public health crisis.
3. Explore new ways to put data to good use
Data from air quality sensors can be used in a number of innovative ways. For example, the city of Leeds in the U.K. has equipped its fleet of hybrid vehicles with quality sensing and geofencing technology. This allows the vehicles to automatically switch to electric-only mode when they enter areas with poor air quality. As a result, the city’s fleet of hybrid vehicles is able to significantly reduce emissions in areas where air pollution is a problem.
Similarly, cities can use data from their air quality sensor network to map hot spots of fine particulate matter. They can then work with residents in these areas to identify sources of the pollution and develop strategies for reducing emissions. By finding innovative uses for data from air quality sensors, cities can take steps to improve air quality and protect public health.
Big data technology is changing our lives in countless ways. Due to the many benefits that data provides, more companies are investing in it. Global companies are expected to spend over $234 billion by 2026. This is a great opportunity for companies that develop big data applications for customers and businesses alike.
If you are interested in creating a successful big data application, then you could have a very profitable business model on your hands. However, profitable big data companies are not born. They require a lot of planning and hard work. You have to have the right elements of success before you launch your company.
As you know by now, running a company is no easy feat. Creating a successful big data company can be even harder, since there is so much competition and the barriers to entry are so high.
You need to have the right mindset, the right tools, and most importantly, the right team. To make it through the day, you’ll need to focus on tasks and not worry about your company’s goals. You also need an impeccable understanding of big data.
In this article, you will learn about four areas of running a company that you can master.
1. Mission Statement
A mission statement is something that every business needs because it gives your company a purpose and direction. If you are selling a data analytics platform for financial traders, you need to have a mission statement that will help your company figure out what it is trying to accomplish.
Your mission statement also helps employees understand how they can contribute to your company’s success. If working hard and being diligent is one of the core values in your company, an employee who works hard but not diligently may feel like they are not contributing enough to the success of the company.
As a big data startup, you should emphasize the importance of technological development. Your company needs to make technological competence a core part of its mission statement, since your brand won’t be able to survive without it. You should emphasize how you will use big data to stand out, since this is crucial for modern companies.
2. Business Brand
Your brand is the image that your business has created for itself. This can also include the logo, advertising campaigns, and other marketing material. A good way to create a good brand would be to have an employee who is creative create a logo and make it available to all employees so that they can use it in their official business cards and other company materials.
When you are creating a brand for a big data startup, you have to make sure it emphasizes the technological competence of your team. Customers won’t trust a technology startup that doesn’t demonstrate the importance of big data.
You can also learn how to design a logo and create what you love most, and something that clients can resonate with.
3. Core Values
Big data technology is constantly changing, so your business will always have to adapt to these changes. However, your company’s core values will remain the same, regardless of trends in the big data sector.
Core values are important for every company as they set the standard for your employees and customers. These core values should not just be written on a piece of paper. They should be ingrained into every employee and customer’s mind so that they can become part of your company’s culture.
For example, if honesty is one of your company’s core values, every employee and customer should know that they can trust you with their money or their life savings because they know that you are honest with them at all times. Additionally, core values help employees understand what is expected of them at work and outside work.
4. Culture
You might rely heavily on automation to run a big data startup. However, the employees running your company are still humans. They will create a company culture that will affect the future of your business.
Company culture is the set of values that your business and your employees live by their beliefs and morals. It can be tough to create a good culture because every business is different, and every employee is different.
However, if you want to ensure that your employees are happy where they are working, you need to know how they feel about certain things in the company so that you can create a good culture. It also contributes to a good working environment.
Do Your Due Diligence When Creating a Data-Driven Business
Running a data-driven business doesn’t have to be a daunting experience. You only have to take all of the information you have gathered during this process and put it to good use.
You should be able to create a plan for your business, brainstorm ideas for new products, and set up your finances to make your business successful. Hopefully, this article has helped you get started on the right foot.
Blockchain is one of the most disruptive technologies of the 21st Century. A growing number of industries are using blockchain to operate more efficiently or boost security.
However, blockchain is still most important in the realm of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has become very popular since its inception in 2008 and that is largely due to the power of blockchain. Blockchain has made investing in bitcoin much more secure than ever.
Are you interested in buying bitcoin? You need to understand the general process and the role that blockchain plays in it.
How Does Blockchain Fit into the Process of Buying Bitcoin?
It may seem a complicated task to invest in bitcoin. However, it can be easier with the proper knowledge and breaking it down into steps. You will need to understand the general process, as well as the role that blockchain plays in it.
If you want to trade or invest in bitcoin, you need to have a cryptocurrency service account, secure internet connection, method of payment, and personal identification documents. Initially, things may seem confusing to you, but you will surely not regret buying the bitcoin.
You also need a personal wallet outside in addition to your account with a bitcoin exchange if you want to buy bitcoins. The valid payment methods for the process include credit cards, debit cards, and bank accounts. Also, you can buy bitcoin through P2P exchanges and specialized ATMs that connect directly to the blockchain.
Security and privacy are important factors that you need to consider before buying a bitcoin. You need to get private keys to a public address as it will enable you to authorize transactions on the bitcoin blockchain. The blockchain has made trading bitcoin extremely secure, but you still need to protect your digital coins by securing your wallet and account.
Keeping private keys secret is a must as criminals and scammers can attempt to steal them. You have to be careful while using the balance of a public address. Without further ado, let’s explore how you can buy bitcoin over the blockchain.
1. Choose Crypto Trading Service
Initially, you have to choose a crypto trading venue or service. Some of the well-known trading services that you can choose to buy BTC include payment services, brokerages, and cryptocurrency exchanges. You need to make sure that these are legitimate services that actually connect to the blockchain. Out of all these options, you should go for cryptocurrency exchanges as it has a wide range of features that ensures a great level of convenience.
By signing up for a cryptocurrency exchange, you can sell, buy, and hold cryptocurrency. Usually, bitcoin buyers prefer this option because it allows them to withdraw crypto from their personal wallets safely. As long as it is a service that legitimately connects to the blockchain, the transactions themselves will be highly secure. However, it is still important to make sure that the bitcoins stored on the exchanges will be secured as well.
There are different types of cryptocurrency exchanges. Some exchanges allow users to not provide personal information while some need it. The exchanges that enable users to stay anonymous are decentralized and operate autonomously. It means they do not have any central point of control. Such systems can serve the unbanked population of the world. Refugees or people living with no banking structure can use anonymous exchanges that can help them enter the mainstream economy. The blockchain has given them the opportunity to use a much more efficient currency.
2. Connect your Exchange to Payment Method
Once you have chosen the exchange, you need to connect the exchange to the payment option. You need to ensure that you have all the required documents to do that. It includes a driving license picture or social security card that depends on the type of exchange that you choose. You may also have to provide information about your employer and source of income. The exact process depends on your region where you live and the laws that apply there. The procedure is almost the same as setting up a brokerage account.
Once the exchange verifies your identity, you can connect to the payment option and will be ready to start placing transactions over the blockchain. You can directly connect to your bank account, debit, or credit card in most exchanges. Although, it is not a good idea to buy bitcoin through a credit card because price volatility can inflate the overall purchasing coin cost. Bank can also ask you some questions, so you have to be prepared. You should check in advance to ensure that your bank allows deposits at the exchange you have chosen. The deposit fees of banks through debit, bank account, and credit cards can vary.
3. Place the Order
After choosing the exchange and connection payment option, you are all set to buy bitcoin. In the recent past, cryptocurrency exchanges have become mainstream as they have grown massively in terms of features and liquidity. The cryptocurrency exchanges have reached a point where they have the same features as stock brokerage. The blockchain is so efficient at processing these transactions that bitcoins can be purchased nearly instantaneously.
Crypto exchanges offer many order types and methods to invest. Apart from different types of orders, exchanges also allow clients to set up recurring investments. For example, Coinbase enables users to set recurring purchases on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
4. Safe Storage
The blockchain has made the process of buying, selling and transferring bitcoins very secure. However, there are security issues that it can’t address, because it only plays a role during the transfer process. Namely, the blockchain can’t protect coins in your wallet. You have to have a secure storage option.
Bitcoin wallets allow you to keep your digital assets secure. If you have cryptocurrency outside of the exchange, then your personal wallet ensures that only you have access to the private key to control your funds. It also enables you to store funds from the exchange and also mitigates the risk of getting your exchange hacked. In this way, it ensures security, so you do not lose your funds.
Most of the exchanges offer wallets for their users, but security is not their major preference. You should not use such type of exchanges wallet that does not guarantee security. Some wallets have more storage features as compared to others, so you should take a look at each of them. You can consider choosing from different types of bitcoin wallets. The hot wallets are known as online wallets, while cold wallets are known as hardware or paper wallets.
You can access hot wallets on internet-connected devices, including phones, tablets, and computers. It can cause vulnerability because these wallets produce the private keys to your coins on devices that you use. Although using a hot wallet is a convenient option that allows you to make transactions efficiently and quickly with your assets.
Also, it allows you to store your private key on internet-connected devices. On the other hand, cold wallets are not connected to the internet, so there is less risk involved in it. You may consider these wallets as hardware or offline wallets. These wallets store your private keys on anything which is not connected to the internet.
According to experts, cold wallets are a more secure option for storing bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies. You can generate these wallets by using certain websites that provide you with private and public keys.
The Blockchain Plays a Crucial Role in the Process of Buying and Selling Bitcoins
The blockchain has a very important role in the process of buying bitcoin. Trading and buying bitcoin has become one of the major trends that have completely transformed many people’s lives, due to the benefits the blockchain has provided. It provides you with a great opportunity to attain financial freedom and change your lifestyle. But you need to have complete awareness before buying the bitcoin to avoid any risks of losing the funds.
Getting professional assistance from bitcoin or crypto experts can make the bitcoin buying process easier for you. It will also help you know about the different aspects that can be beneficial for you in the long term.
Data has become one of the most valuable assets to modern organizations. Some companies are still in denial of its importance, but their hesitance to embrace it is subsiding. One poll found that 36% of companies rate big data as “crucial” to their success.
However, many companies still struggle to formulate lasting data strategies. One of the biggest problems is that they don’t have reliable data collection approaches.
Data Collection is Vital to Companies Trying to Make the Most of Big Data
In the world of business, data collection is very important. Quality data can be used to solve many different types of problems that may occur, such as improving financial efficiency, identifying the best customers to target with their marketing campaigns and exploring new ways to improve productivity. Therefore, data must be collected, vetted for quality and preserved for future use. However, data does not just collect itself. It has has to be gathered efficiently and legally.
The data collection process should be carried out methodically. Different data collection processes might be ideal for different types of data. Some common data collection methods are shared below.
Surveys
When it comes to data collection, nothing beats a good old-fashioned survey. Surveys can come either in a physical or digital form. In a business, conducting a survey is very easy. A survey will allow customers to share their opinions on the services they receive. Therefore, a business can now use this useful data to improve its efficiency and bolster customer engagement.
Interviews and Focus groups
Interviews and focus groups can also be effective for gathering data. This process involves assembling a small group of people and asking them questions about a topic. You are looking to collect data about their sentiments around a particular brand or product.
After a new product or service is released, it can be difficult to understand the public’s perception about it. Focus groups or interviews are modern data collection approaches to get a better perspective on their views. They provide valuable feedback from users, which is collected as data. This data is in turn saved and used to solve problems relating to the product or service.
Online forms
Data collection forms are a great way to collect useful data in any business. A data collection form is a cheap but effective way to get data about customers. Another benefit is that customers can be asked to fill in these forms when they want to purchase the product or service. Most of these forms are usually available online for people that want to register for a service. Data collection forms are very useful when an existing customer needs to receive information about a new product or feature. There is also a data collection forms app that helps to make this easier.
Social media or websites
In the age of digital media, the vast majority of businesses require social media platforms or websites to run their business efficiently. There are actually a multitude of benefits of social media. While social media is very useful for advertising new products or services, that is not all that it is good for. Companies can use social media to field complaints made by people using their services or their competition to improve their business models. Besides, this is a good way to gather data without necessarily paying for it.
The Importance of Data Collection in Business
A business that wants to strive must have an effective data collection strategy. Let’s see why data collection is key to business development below:
Decision-making
In a business, a lot of important decisions have to be made on a regular basis. Many of these decisions are influenced by data that has been shared from users. Properly executed data collection processes help provide useful information that can be used to make good decisions.
Detect problems
When a business is facing a challenge, no matter how visible it might be to the decision-makers within the company, it is usually going to be reflected in their data. Data includes complaints and comments made by customers. As the data is collected, it shows the areas where the business must make improvements. This is the first step in fixing the problem.
Develop strategies
Every business requires a strategy that would be used to achieve the business’s goals. What many businesses fail to understand is that data about customers can be incredibly valuable for articulating strategies on bolstering customers satisfaction. Quality data shows what the customers want, and this will decide what strategy to use.
Saves time
A great data collection strategy saves time because you would otherwise need to waste a lot of effort by executing poorly thought-out, ad hoc data collection strategies. By collecting and storing data, you will never waste your time finding some data. As part of the data collection definition on Simplilearn, saving time is one of the crucial importance of collating data for a business.
Conclusion
Data collection has become a very important process, because data is vital to the decision-making process in many companies. Every business needs a methodical approach to collecting and storing valuable data. This will surely improve the efficiency of the business.
Data collection is the new normal. Data scientists or analysts are highly sought-after by tech companies. It is almost impossible to do without data these days. No wonder, a lot of companies spend millions to collate data. Finally, plan an effective data collection that will suit your business. You can get data collection forms on pareto to collate information.
