As my father always told me: “In life, success all comes down to the proper application of education, whether that be academic or emotional”.
The Data Lake Generation
In today’s rapidly-changing business world, there’s a fine line between knowledge given and knowledge understood, which means that, in terms of the much touted fourth Industrial revolution, that is, Industry 4.0, there’s a definite need to keep the value proposition simple.
I’ve participated in many a discussion led by software sales teams, eager to sell their solutions to businesses and reach their targets. They delight in relaying the stats on the many data lakes being generated by their products, they overwhelm with a new language filled with ‘gateways’ to the ‘edge’ and beyond, and they preach about the omni-present ‘cloud’.
Let’s keep it simple!
It’s all very intense and the stats are flying, but let’s step it back a little shall we? Let’s start by explaining the value of those little puddles of data that businesses of all sizes create every day. Let’s talk about how that data, when collected, can be broken down into nuggets of knowledge that can genuinely help businesses of all sizes thrive.
We need to educate, to keep it simple, to tell a compelling story!
An old-school mentality
The buzzwords and hashtags of our new digital revolution are becoming more and more familiar: IoT, IIoT, Machine Learning and Cloud Analytics, for example, are all flung into the conversation mix, but what do they really mean to the businesses themselves? The C-Suite acknowledge that they need to embrace a new mindset of digital transformation but often still fail to grasp what that actually is.
In true Darwinian style, some are making the shift more rapidly and successfully than others. I suspect in part this is down to a new millennial workforce of those born into a mindset of digital thinking, coupled with a willingness to let the new kids lead the way. Hanging on to an old-school mentality and clinging to the hull of a rigid hierarchy just doesn’t swing it in a new world of disruption.
The Sizzle not the Sausage
Ultimately businesses want to understand the benefits not the workings. It’s that old ‘sell the sizzle, not the sausage’ premise. We’re asking them for potentially huge investments, so they need to clearly understand what’s in in for them.
Just like a new plumbing system, when they turn on their industry ‘taps’ they want to see water flowing out. Likewise, they need to be able to see their data as a valuable transformative force – one that can reduce production errors, maximise manufacturing potential and streamline a supply chain, in turn, decreasing costs and increasing revenue.
Now you’ve got their attention!
Happily Ever After
“But don’t just take our word for it” you say! And this is the time to tell those success stories, to reveal those all-important case studies. These provide the proof needed in order for the initial outlay to be justified, showing them that they can live “happily ever after” in this new digital world and make it work to their advantage.
As I’ve said many times before, we need to convey that data isn’t the enemy but a very useful, close friend who’s just waiting to be called upon.
