Data analytics is a valuable asset that can significantly help you cut costs, increase revenue, boost productivity, and improve customer loyalty. The best thing about it is that you can use it with data you already collect from a variety of internal, online, and external sources.
Naturally, such a transformative asset isn’t precisely easy to implement, so if you’re decided to embrace data analytics for your business, you should decide who should be in charge of it. Sure, there are data analytics applications that run automatically or that only require minimal human intervention. But the most impactful ones need the supervision of professional data analysts, a role you might hire in-house or that you can outsource.
In that sense, Data Analytics Services from a trusted company like BairesDev can be the perfect way to obtain the insights you seek without having to hire or train someone in-house to do the work. Outsourcing offers many benefits, as we explore below. But, first, a bit more about what data analytics is and why hiring outsourced data analytics services is a smart approach.
What is Data Analytics?
Data analytics is the process of examining data from a variety of sources to find insights and trends that can help you make the best business decisions. While it can be performed manually on small amounts of data, the rise of big data has made that approach much less practical. Data analytics relies on numerous data sources, such as applications used to manage internal operations like inventory and customer relationships, as well as web and social media searches.
The results of data analytics processes are different for each industry. For example, manufacturing companies want conclusions about their equipment, such as how long it runs, how long it’s down due to technical problems, and how much work it can take on. With this kind of information, operators can increase efficiency by planning ahead for downtime or designing employee schedules accordingly.
Sales teams rely on data analytics to sort through customer information and return insights about ongoing or emerging trends. This information can be used to approach those most likely to buy. It can also be shared with the marketing team to develop highly targeted promotions.
Recent trends in data analytics enable this already highly-useful system to be even more so. For example, augmented analytics enables users to set an automated process for searching for huge data streams and returning actionable insights. Blockchain technology enhances predictive analytics by verifying data validity, and continuous intelligence makes recommendations based on both historical and current data.
Why Outsource Data Analytics?
Data analytics outsourcing enables companies to get the work done without having to perform a talent search, onboard and hire a new employee, and pay benefits and salary even when the work slows down. With an outsourced option, the provider takes on all these responsibilities and you get to enjoy the benefits.
Outsourcing data analytics does have drawbacks, such as the risk of exposing sensitive company data, but there are ways to mitigate the disadvantages (such as implementing a nondisclosure agreement). Given that ability, the benefits listed here far outweigh the potential issues.
Access to talent
The talent search, hiring process, and training mentioned above can take a long time. What if you need valuable business insights to make critical decisions now? Data analytics outsourcing firms can provide the skilled data analysts, data scientists, and machine learning engineers you require immediately. And they know exactly what to do from the moment they walk in your door, with up-to-date knowledge of the latest technologies, methods, and processes.
Industry knowledge
Not only can you get talent fast from data analytics outsourcing providers. You can also get exactly the talent you need for your specific industry. These professionals may work within one field, so they understand the types of insight you need to develop the right products and services, start the best programs, and beat the competition.
For example, healthcare providers need insights that allow them to optimize budgets, enhance processes, nurture employees, and improve patient care. Analytics professionals understand how to find the right information to support these goals and compare them with industry standards while avoiding common pitfalls.
Flexibility
When you outsource a service like data analytics, you gain flexibility in how you run your business. For example, you may already have analysts working for you, but a large project or the need for a specific type of assistance could prompt you to take on additional temporary staff.
You may only require help for one specific project, or just support setting up an analytics system that you can then run on your own. You may find that you need multiple people to help with data analytics indefinitely. No matter what your situation, you can easily ramp up or down the outsourced service depending on your needs.
Compliance
When managing and analyzing huge amounts of data, companies run the risk of non-compliance with security regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Outsourced data analytics professionals are well versed in these issues and can ensure companies avoid common errors. This process enables businesses to use insights gleaned to their advantage without worrying about compliance problems that would cancel out those efforts.
Cost savings
As noted above, the process to hire a new employee, even a part-time one, is time-consuming. It can also be pretty expensive. The process of outsourcing an employee with the same talent and availability doesn’t include that overhead, so it ends up costing less.
You also save costs when you make smart business decisions based on insights gleaned from the work of these professionals. Additionally, depending on how you set up the workflow, you may be able to avoid equipment and software costs as well.
Focus
When you outsource any tasks within your company, including data analytics, you free up your core team to focus on high-level activities that are likelier to result in better product and service development, streamlined processes, and improved customer relations — outcomes that lead to increased revenue and decreased cost.
When these activities incorporate the market trends and other critical information uncovered by data analytics, the results have the potential to be even more powerful.
