The Benefits of Citizen Data Analytics
Becoming a data-driven business is no longer a luxury but a necessity for organisations that want to compete and become market leaders. The term “data-driven” has become somewhat of a cliché over the past few years but how many businesses can authentically identify themselves as truly data-driven?
One of the most important factors to determine the level to which a business is data-driven is their understanding, and implementation of, citizen data analytics.
Citizen data analytics is the act of empowering everyone is the business to interact with and make decisions based on real-time data, whether they are technical or not.
The idea that data access should be restricted to only those in technology teams is flawed and out-dated. Pioneers in the space of citizen data analytics are beginning to take huge strides in terms of operational excellence which stubborn competitors will find only increasingly difficult to keep up with.
Citizen data analytics offers several significant benefits to a business, for example:
Faster Decision-Making: With citizen data analysts empowered to explore and analyse data on their own, organisations can make quicker decisions. This agility is especially valuable in fast-paced industries where timely responses to changing conditions are essential.
Cost-Efficiency: Training non-technical employees to become citizen data analysts is often more cost-effective than hiring specialised data professionals. It reduces the need for a large data engineering or data science team, making better use of your existing talent. The skills are already in your teams, you just lack the right tools.
Enhanced Data-Driven Culture: Encouraging employees from various departments to engage with data fosters a culture of data-driven decision-making throughout the organisation. This can lead to a more informed, empowered, and innovative workforce.
Improved Problem-Solving: Citizen data analysts, who have domain expertise in their respective areas, can bring unique perspectives to data analysis. They may uncover insights or connections that data professionals might overlook.
Scalability: As the volume of data generated by businesses continues to grow, citizen data analytics can help distribute the workload and ensure that data analysis keeps pace with data generation.
Increased Accountability: When employees have access to data and are involved in the decision-making process, they tend to take ownership of the outcomes, leading to increased accountability for their actions.
Data Quality Improvement: With more eyes on the data, issues related to data quality and accuracy are more likely to be identified and addressed promptly.
It's important to note that while citizen data analytics offers numerous advantages, it should be implemented with careful consideration to data governance, security, and privacy concerns. Businesses must strike a balance between empowering employees and maintaining data integrity and compliance with data protection regulations. Proper tools, training, support, and data governance policies are essential to reap the full benefits of citizen data analytics while mitigating associated risks.
Tools such as Alteryx are specifically designed and tested to enable the citizen data analyst due to its no-code, drag-and-drop ideology.
