Data Ecosystems and Advanced Analytics

What’s in your company DnA?

The use of analytics to deliver greater tangible value is one of the most powerful tools a company has in its arsenal. Luckily, organizations already have much of the data they need to support better strategic decision-making, increase organization efficiencies and reduce operational costs – in some cases they just can’t see it.

CFGI’s Data and Analytics (DnA) offering helps clients identify and capture meaningful insights from their data to turn information into a competitive advantage. Our DnA team has extensive industry and technical expertise, allowing us to deliver actionable insights and measurable impact for clients by:

  • Connecting strategic vision with tangible outcomes.
  • Using flexible and scalable support models to drive core initiatives.
  • Providing ad hoc, deeply transformational and ongoing data and analytics architecture and solutions.

Further, we are fully vendor agnostic, which enables us to work with our clients’ preferred technologies and platforms to ensure project success. In addition to implementing and improving tools, data and models, we also focus on building new capabilities to certify that your data and analytics program offers a sustained competitive advantage.

Data and analytics

What’s in your company DnA?

Understanding the difference between data and analytics — and the interconnectedness of these two terms — is paramount for achieving actionable insights.

Data is the foundation. It consists of the quantitative and qualitative information, observations, measurements and variables used in reporting, reasoning, discussion and calculation. Without data, you can’t achieve insights.

Analytics is the action. It allows you to leverage diagnostic, descriptive, predictive and prescriptive methodologies to derive actionable insights from data. Supported by tools, analysis and interpretation, analytics provide data-driven discoveries to guide strategic business decisions. Without asking the right questions, you won’t know what kinds of data to capture.  

Empowering clients to make better decisions, faster

Data enablement and analytics capabilities are important components of any transformation initiative, with the most effective strategies integrating DnA with broader, company-wide goals. By connecting strategic vision with tangible results, companies can drive improved business outcomes with faster, more effective decision-making while evolving into a data-driven and analytics-centric enterprise. 

Data ecosystems

Creating a truly data-driven company starts with establishing a strong foundation built on an exploration of the untapped value that resides in your data today, while at the same time paving the path toward the actionable insights of the future. CFGI’s recommended foundational data ecosystem is composed of six pillars that support continuous data evolution within a company:

Align strategy, culture and capabilities with desired business outcomes

  • Determine which data components are critical for success.
  • Leverage key trends and insights to drive innovation and accelerate change.
  • Promote the cultural shifts needed to enable greater business impact.
  • Align desired business outcomes with a data-driven mindset.

Support the evolving needs of the business through accurate, trusted data management

  • Drive accountability with agile data governance practices and frameworks.
  • Protect, enhance and optimize value for the company.
  • Build effective data governance programs to ensure data quality and integrity.
  • Become the single source of truth by establishing the highest standards of ethics and trust.

Deliver best-in-class data architecture and solutions that scale with the business

  • Enable scalable data and analytics infrastructure to flex with the business.
  • Understand the latest trends, and empower teams with the right data and analytics tools.
  • Prioritize investments in information, platforms and solution architecture.
  • Establish master data governance to ensure data quality throughout the company.

Drive adoption within the business and beyond

  • Construct compelling, interactive dashboards for reporting and analysis.
  • Provide comprehensive flexibility in planning and analytics applications.
  • Enable capabilities for data mining and integrated, cross-functional analysis.
  • Adopt data-driven policies throughout the business without compromising quality, integrity or trust.

Advanced analytics

The need for actionable insights is ingrained in every function, role, process and decision of the business — which means data-driven leaders must understand how to enable their data and operationalize their analytics strategy for the greatest impact. 

Transform data into a perpetual source of value by fueling strategic decisions and actionable insights with powerful analytics, data-driven storytelling and dynamic modeling

  • Establish, validate and benchmark operating models and business strategies.
  • Enable self-service reporting and analytics to facilitate activity throughout the business.
  • Uncover hidden patterns and trends.
  • Ensure teams have access to the right data and tools.

Rediscover the art of the pragmatic with the art of the possible

  • Build and enhance finance and data models.
  • Incorporate dynamic variables and “what-if” scenarios to tell a coherent story across the life cycle.
  • Support mergers and acquisitions, as well as divestiture efforts, using synergy identification and capture models.
  • Empower teams with centralized reporting and enterprise-wide, self-serviced and actionable insights.
  • Explore tools and trends while defining company-wide requirements, skills and capabilities needed for successful deployment.
  • Understand, measure and qualify the business impact of an advanced analytics program.

Use the right tools, methodologies and best practices for analytics success

  • Understand the types of data available, as well as their functions, sources and uses throughout the business.
  • Drive cross-functional collaboration to deliver better, deeper and more impactful operating insights.
  • Enable real-time, readily accessible data with a simplified technology stack.
  • Streamline data collection, aggregation and cleansing efforts.
  • Metric threshold activation of repetitive and time-consuming tasks with robotic process automation (RPA).
  • Standardize enterprise key performance indicators (KPIs) and reporting to optimize financial planning and analysis (FP&A) capabilities.
  • Align analytics goals with available talent and capabilities.
  • Discover, assess and transform operating models while improving business outcomes of strategic initiatives.

An effective data and analytics strategy is crucial for businesses to not only survive — but thrive. 

If you are thinking about transforming your organization through the use of data and analytics, we would love to hear about your goals and challenges. Contact us today.