PARTNERS ’ PERSPECTIVE believe this should be the guiding principle not just with business analytics projects but any project that you as a trusted business advisor to your clients is involved in .
Given the rate of failure for some business analytics implementations , it ’ s vital that you avoid certain pitfalls . Some of the common implementation pitfalls that you should avoid when rolling out business analytics are losing sight of the end goal . Sometimes due to the complex nature and duration of an analytics project , it is easy to lose track of the end goal . While deploying analytics in customer IT environments , it is essential to constantly revisit the defined goal by asking relevant questions throughout the length of the project . This helps to remain on track .
The other drawback to avoid is not getting adequate internal support . Attempting to implement an analytics project without proper enterprise support can produce imprecise and incomplete insights . Data flows throughout organisations are extremely dense , and any data governance solution will ultimately require buy-in from several stakeholders . All key C-level executives and department heads
While deploying analytics in customer IT environments , it is essential to constantly revisit the defined goal by asking relevant questions throughout the length of the project .
should be included in the process of analytics deployment at the beginning , so they can realise the value the new tool will bring to their current business challenges and how it will lead to a growth in success .
A crucial element in all this is abandoning existing infrastructure . Organisations like to get rid of their existing analytical architectures once they deploy and embrace a new product , as they consider older systems as unreliable . This is not necessarily true and such misconception can cause resistance within an organisation to implement new business analytics as decision makers might assume it is unaffordable and onerous to have to replace existing infrastructure entirely .
With the skills challenges the MEA market is facing when it comes to skilled analysts who understand the technologies and business , partners that decide to play in this sphere must be willing to invest time , money and effort to develop their employees .
While an insight-driven approach can unearth numerous business opportunities , many companies still struggle with the lack of skills among their employees . One way to fill the skills gap is by taking the existing staff and training them in new methods , new processes , and new tools . Analysts should upskill to grow business engagement , such as storytelling , scenario building and rapid prototyping . The other way to meet the skills challenge is by hiring consultants with the right skills to support analytics implementation projects .
In many countries across the Middle East and Africa , universities are now offering degree programmes in data science to help you learn how to model , store and process data sets using the latest algorithms and techniques . Ultimately , this will help you acquire the skills applicable to business applications , industrial applications and also scientific data exploration . •
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