FUTURE TECHNOLOGY
Leveraging data to pull through challenges
Vibhu Kapoor , Regional Vice President , Middle East , Africa and India , Epicor
Supply chains , economic disturbances , social hurdles , the challenges never stop , so neither can the data evolution of a competitive business advises Vibhu Kapoor at Epicor .
In business , insights are everything . They are the angled mirrors that help decision makers see round corners . And in insights , data is everything . It is the light that bounces off the mirrors .
The UAE is in a stronger economic position than most of its MENA peers . It rebounded from the pandemic more quickly than many nations around the world and its inflation rate throughout 2022 , while higher than it had been for some time , was still lower than many countries in Europe and the Americas .
But the economy is inarguably global . And businesses here are once again looking to do more with less and unlock the kind of long-term business value that can help them weather another crisis should one arise .
Unlock long-term business value and weather the next crisis . It is easy to say ; it is easy to write down . But challenges stand between us and the kind of insights that give us a glimpse of what lies beyond the horizon . Here are five considerations that will enhance any journey towards becoming a data-led organisation .
Silos , begone
Data silos remain a sticky problem , as does internal opposition to their demolition . But if companies want to futureproof themselves against , say , supply-chain disruptions , they must lean into the wind and get it done , get rid of silos and unify the data infrastructure .
Data is easy to gather , but if it is to be transformed into actionable insights , a cogent strategy must be formulated and nurtured . In place of silos , we should see tighter integration of platforms and as few vendors as is practicable . We should see unified governance that reaches every corner of the business . When we see these things , value will follow . Increased productivity flows from centralised , accurate , non-duplicated data that
represents a single source of truth .
The first step in accomplishing all this is widely known . Cloud migration brings the right infrastructure for scaling up data leverage . Business stakeholders can incorporate processes and workflows into the new environment and define goals , policies , and even challenges within a coherent data framework .
We live in the age of employee experience and employers are now the ones in the shop window .
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