Big data is something that's increasingly available, it's no longer much of an advantage just to have it.
What will set successful companies apart is the ability to understand and use it quickly.
In an interview with bcg.perspectives Tesco executive Michael Holmes describes how companies will have to change the way they organize themselves for their analytics to be effective:
Big companies like Tesco that traditionally operated with a very central nervous system are going to become like dinosaurs with the brain at the end of a very long neck if they don’t develop more distributive nervous systems.
When store or customer level data gets routed back to headquarters, is analyzed there, and has a response formulated before being routed back to customer facing branches, the reaction can be slower and less accurate than it needs to be.
Some of the advantage customer data confers is lost along the way.
Headquarters should still have its place for larger strategic plans, but Holmes thinks that data use and analysis needs to be better spread through companies:
More distributive nervous systems mean more collaborative ways of working and responsibilities distributed differently around the organization. They will demand a combination of flexibility about where decisions get made and clear protocols about what information goes where.
There are two broad uses for customer data. Companies can analyze big market trends, and respond to nearer term local needs. There's a great deal of room for companies to organize for agility on the local level.
See also: More Companies Should 'Rip Off The Band Aid' And Kill Weak Links
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