.png)
We hear a lot about data analytics. Everyone from marketing managers to customer service representatives is talking about it. But there are several data analytics myths that prevent businesses from truly benefiting from it, so in this post, we share 5 of these myths and clear up the misconceptions surrounding them.
MYTH 1: Data analytics is only for big companies
TRUTH: The fact is, data analytics can help businesses of all sizes—from small startups to large corporations—discover problem areas and understand their customers better. This provides businesses with a much-needed market advantage. This means that data analytics can help any firm make better decisions, regardless of size or industry. A report from Microstrategy in 2020 found that data and analytics are being used by 60% of firms across the world to improve process and cost-efficiency.
The key is to find the right tool for your needs. If you need a full suite that includes analysis, visualization, and more, with an easy-to-understand subscription model, try the Tesser Insights platform.
MYTH 2: Data analytics is only accessible to analysts
TRUTH: While you can't just dive into data and expect to make sense of it all, AI and automation can solve issues in utilizing data analytics. By making data analytics accessible, business users can now use simple, actionable data insights and transform this into impactful business actions. Democratizing data analytics allows business users to engage with data intelligently. With Tesser Insights, you can bridge the gap between business users and IT.
However, data scientists need not worry about machines replacing them since the goal is to streamline time and resources so that the team can focus on more complex work that requires human problem-solving skills.
MYTH 3: More data = Better insights
TRUTH: Gathering data is only half the battle; you also have to know how to use it. It's not enough to just have a bunch of numbers —you need to know which ones are important and why they're important. The number of data points is not a proxy for the quality of your data gathering. If you're measuring something that doesn't exist or isn't relevant to your business, then you aren't gathering good information. According to Mike Gualtieri, VP of Forrester Research, 60% to 73% of data collected within an organization for analytics remains unused.
Having more data can be useful for certain issues but to solve business problems, it is often unnecessary. It is more valuable to seek out clean and relevant data for the models you want to build. In fact, massive volumes of low-quality data can result in skewed results and poor insights.
MYTH 4: Data automatically leads to new and useful insights
TRUTH: Data analytics can be a powerful tool for businesses, but it's not magic. It can't automatically discover useful information, and it certainly doesn't make decisions for you. Insights come from the data collected and modeled, and discoveries come from proving or disproving theories.
The first step to turning your data into an actionable resource is to frame your business problem. Data scientists spend a lot of time cleaning and organizing their data to get it ready for analysis. By plucking out valuable insights, businesses can move closer to achieving their business goals.
MYTH 5: It is just a matter of creating ML models
TRUTH: You’re only just getting started. Don't think of your model as the final product you'll ever need to create. They need monitoring and maintenance just like any other piece of software or hardware in your company. Regularly reevaluate your models so that they can continue to deliver value over time.
Markets and consumer trends change constantly, and this is reflected in the data. This means that the data fed to the model needs to be up-to-date, relevant and clean and models need to be tweaked to account for changes.
Conclusion
In short, data analytics can be beneficial for any business, large or small. Successful companies understand this, and if your company hasn't taken the plunge into data analytics, now is the time. By digging through the facts about data analytics instead of relying on these common myths, you can gain a better understanding of its potential. Don't let fear of the unknown slow you down—instead, embrace the world of data and start building your analytics plan today.
