The more data literate your organisation is, the better your results will be. In my work with companies all over the world, I see it every day that organisations that fail to boost data literacy of their employees will be left behind because they are not be able to fully use the vital business resource of data to their business advantage. In this post, I explore what data literacy is, why it's crucial for every business and ways to promote data literacy.

1. Why Is Data Literacy
Important For Any
Business?

2. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Title
Text
IntroductionIntroduction
The more data literate your organisation is, the better your results will be. In
my work with companies all over the world, I see it every day that
organisations that fail to boost data literacy of their employees will be left
behind because they are not be able to fully use the vital business resource of
data to their business advantage. In this post, I explore what data literacy is,
why it's crucial for every business and ways to promote data literacy.
Why Is Data Literacy Important For Any
Business?

3. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
What is data literacy?
The first step in data literacy is the ability to communicate, write and read about
data in context. Then, employees, not just data scientists, need to critically
assess the data, find meaning in the numbers and glean actionable business
insights from it. Employees with expertise over a business area are going to be
the ones that are best able to act on data insights to create results. This is why it
is critical for everyone in your organisation, not just data analysts, to have access
to data and a basic ability to read and use data. Not only can your organisation
make decisions based on facts when it's data literate, but users are able to
experiment with the data to uncover new insights and opportunities. Putting
data to use, not just collecting it, is the key to the future of your business.

4. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Why does data literacy matter for every business?
Even though spending on big data and analytics products is supposed to
surpass $200 million by 2020 according to the International Data Corporation
(IDC), 50% of organisations will still lack the data literacy and AI skills to achieve
business value. It doesn't matter how much data your organisation collects; it
isn't beneficial until it gets put to work for your organisation. Data must be
analysed to get actionable insights before it provides business value.
According to a Gartner Annual Chief Data Officer (CDO) Survey, poor data
literacy is one of the main roadblocks to the CDO’s success and a company’s
ability to grow. To combat this, 80% of organisations will have specific initiatives
to overcome their employees' data deficiencies by 2020 Gartner predicts.

5. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Why does data literacy matter for every business?
Data literacy is to the 21st century what literacy was in the past century. It will
propel forward momentum and success. It's essential for everyone in an
organisation to understand why it's important to improve data literacy.
Employees should be able to use data to influence their day-to-day activities as
well as big-picture decisions. If used the right way, it can help every employee
achieve their objectives, perform their job better and contribute to overall
company performance. And, when you give everyone access to the data, it can
make your operations more streamlined and efficient since those who know
their business won’t have to wait for data scientists to interpret the data for
them. The bottleneck is removed.
In addition, employees who are data literate will also understand how to handle
data appropriately, which will reduce the number of data breaches (employees
are currently responsible for 40 per cent of security breaches).

6. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
How to promote and begin to build data literacy
As part of my job as a strategic data advisor to companies, I have helped
develop many data literacy programmes and have helped countless
organisations boost their data literacy. Here are six essential steps that will help
you increase the data literacy in your organisation:
1. Determine your organisation's current data literacy
Establish the current data literacy of your organisation. Are your managers able
to propose new initiatives backed by relevant data? How many people are
actually using data today to make decisions?
2. Identify fluent data speakers and data gaps
Not only do you need data analysts who are adept at speaking naturally about
data, but you also need to have “translators” who can bridge the gap and
mediate between the data analysts and business groups. Also, identify where
communication barriers are preventing data from being used to its full business
potential.

7. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
How to promote and begin to build data literacy
3. Communicate why data literacy is important
Those who understand the “why” of initiatives are more likely to support the training
to get there. Be sure to explain why data literacy is essential for your organisation’s
success.
4. Ensure access to data
It is vital that you have a way for everyone to access, manipulate, analyse and share
the data. This step might involve finding technology such as a data visualisation or
management dashboard that would make this easier to do.
5. Create a data literacy program by starting small
Don’t overextend yourself launching a data literacy program for everyone all at once.
From the assessments of “missed opportunities” with data, start with one business
unit at a time. What you learn in your pilot program can be used to adjust the program
for the next time. Be sure to make your data literacy program fun and engaging. And
remember: data training doesn’t have to be boring!

8. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
How to promote and begin to build data literacy
6. Lead by example
Leaders of your organisation need to prioritise data insights in their own work to show
the rest of the organisation the priority your team puts on using data to make
decisions and support daily operations. Insist that any proposals for new products or
services are backed up with relevant data and analytics to support those ideas. Over
time, this emphasis on data will create a data-first culture.
While every organisation might have a unique path to data literacy, it’s clear that every
organisation must start their journey if they haven't yet, or they will be left behind in
the business world of the future. Data literacy will drive success, and the more data
literate your organisation becomes, the better results you will have.
If you would like to get some help in boosting the data literacy in your business, then
just get in touch.

9. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
RaaS for a Variety of Uses
Cobalt Robotics offers robots to patrol buildings for a solution that the
company says is 65 percent cheaper than having human security guards to
guard premises. The data the robots collect is funnelled back to artificial
intelligence algorithms that can find insights to make security operations better.
Fetch Robotics promises on-demand automation for "any payload, any facility,
any workflow." They were also named by the World Economic Forum as one of
the technology pioneers that have the power to "shape the Fourth Industrial
Revolution." Among other tasks, Fetch robots help to automate warehouse
operations for online retailers who must deal with seasonal spikes. RaaS is very
appealing in these circumstances because it allows companies to quickly scale
up to meet a high demand without investing in equipment that won't be used in
slower periods.

10. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
RaaS for a Variety of Uses
Warehouse picker robots are the area of expertise for InVia Robotics. The
company offers a subscription-based model for goods-to-person-fulfilment
service. InVia claims they can boost order fulfilment by 500%.
Industrial robotics firm Kuka isn’t satisfied with offering just robots for lease;
they are launching a SmartFactory as a Service initiative to give their customers
an option to rent out an entire robot-staffed automated plant.

11. © 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Things to Overcome
As many technology providers make the shift away from selling products to
selling services such as RaaS, there are still things to overcome such as the
amount of customization of the hardware to make the robots useful for
individual organizations with specific needs. So, although a base platform might
be consistent across many entities, adaptations will be required for the robots
leading to longer implementation windows that cost more. Regardless of the
growing pains, RaaS will be the solution many organisations seek.

12. © 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website
© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website

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