Most Organisations Don't Have a Data Problem

Over the years, I’ve heard countless organisations say that a ‘data problem’ is preventing them from addressing their most important operational challenges.
This typically falls into a category such as:

Too much data.
Not enough data.
Poor quality data.
Data spread across too many systems or documents.

Some organisations genuinely need new metering, sensors or data-capture processes. But in many cases, the information needed already exists; it simply lacks the context required to make it useful.

They know about their

• people.

• assets.

• locations.

• documents.

• sensors.

• inspections.

• maintenance history.

The challenge is that all of this information lives in different places, owned by different teams and described in different ways.

When someone asks a simple operational question, the answer often isn't in one system; it has to be pieced together from many.

That's not a lack of data. It's a lack of context.

I believe the next generation of operational software won't simply collect more information. It will help organisations understand how everything connects. That's a very different problem to solve and, in my view, a far more interesting one; particularly as it aligns into an AI enabled world.

So, rather than treating all of your data as a problem that must be fixed before you can create value, start with a question:

If you could ask one question about your organisation and have an instant answer, what would it be?

Once you have that question, you have a clear goal. You can identify the information needed, understand where it lives and begin applying the context required to answer it.