Decision-making in business is entering a whole new realm. Not only do the decisions today’s businesses make have consequences that are more far-reaching than ever before, they’re also in an environment that is changing more and faster than ever.

As such, there’s a real need for proper decision-making. Why? Because, to put it simply, making the right decisions will make or break a business, especially in dynamic industries where what worked before may not work again.

Going in blindly and relying too much on intuition without basis is something that must be avoided. The good news is, Big Data grants businesses the capacity to respond with the right decisions and enhance their decision-making process. Let’s take a look at why this is so.

Prioritisation is an Important Early Step

In business, data analysis helps businesses to prioritise properly. A company trying to decide on the best course of action based on a particular data set can choose to prioritise one objective or goal over another. This is an important step as it allows managers to focus and streamline their strategies, minimising wasted time, effort, and resources.

Let’s say, for example, a business is trying to come up with a new budget with proper funds allocation in mind. By analysing data on items such as department spending and growth, overhead, depreciation of assets, and employee needs, you’ll be able to determine which departments warrant or need a bigger piece of the pie.

Are our marketing efforts showing great promise? Are we experiencing frequent IT problems and device issues resulting in lost profits? Questions such as these will tell a business what and how to prioritise, and data analysis will help you get the answers you need to make the right decisions.

Consolidating and Connecting Decisions

Many times, the right business decisions are also consolidated and connected to each other, forming a sort of chain that delivers more value to the business. This is a positive way of doing business as it allows for a more utilitarian drive in decision-making which focuses on making the right choices that affects a bigger part of the organisation, not just one or two individuals or departments.

By using Big Data, businesses can make and consolidate their decisions and connect them across various operations or organisational levels. Qantas Airways’ efforts at both tending to an issue while also increasing bookings is a good example of this. Using data from their passengers, apps, and the weather, Qantas is able to address flight disruptions while also aiming to increase occupancy. The airline connected data from business applications and passengers to external data about weather patterns and flight paths in real-time. Doing so made them more prepared to handle flight delays while limiting the negative impact on occupancy and ticket sales.

By utilising data analysis for decision-making with the “bigger picture” in mind, the right kind of decisions can be made, those that will have a bigger positive impact on the business as a whole.

Proper Delegation is Key

Another important part of decision-making is determining which things you can do and those that you need help with. This is true for both the micro and macro views of business. In the former, we can talk about things such as how one manager determines which particular tasks to assign, and the employees to delegate them to. In the latter, whole departments or companies processes are involved—for example, deciding on which parts of operations or production should be done in-house, and those that may require third-party service. In both views though, you’ll need data to make sure you make the right decision.

Data analysis allows businesses to decide and determine their current capacity and limitations, what they should and can afford to outsource, and where their own in-house expertise will work best. Analysing data on things such as equipment capacity, production methods and costs, and budgetary constraints will help you arrive at the right decision.

Failing to use data to delegate properly could lead to a host of problems, from business inefficiencies to wrong use of funds and business resources which could severely the potential for growth.

Using Past Decisions to Make Better Decisions Today

The PwC’s report on Australian businesses says that, “69% of Australian firms use data and analytics tools for retrospective analysis, preferring to use data to understand why a decision went wrong or why a business move failed.” This means that Big Data is being used not just to make the right decisions today but also in the future.

According to the “Big Data: Let The Data Do the Talking” report, predictive and prescriptive analytics allows businesses to discover unexpected patterns, act on trends before they even occur, and pinpoint emerging income streams before the competition does. By gathering and analysing historical data and patterns as well as current trends and forecasting, businesses are able to encourage the kind of decision-making that allows them to make the right decisions for avoiding the same mistakes again, preparing better for future threats, and discovering previously unseen opportunities.

Today’s organisations have access to the data they need to make the right decisions. However, access is not enough. To maximise Big Data, you also need to have the right tools to bring out its potential. Latize’s intelligent data management platform Ulysses makes sense of the data you have, harmonising and building from it an intelligent web of information about different things, from products and people to companies and events. This helps you obtain the needed insights for you to make the right decisions and rive your business forward. Get in touch with us today and we’ll show you how Big Data can work wonders for you.