The most common problems with data analysis encountered by entrepreneurs

It is clear from a study by CIMA that as many as 86% of companies have problems processing large amounts of data. What is worse, more than 30% of the representatives of the companies participating in the survey admitted that erroneous analyses harmed their revenue levels. Among the most significant challenges, they identified problems with comparing data from several databases.

How to analyse data effectively?

• Determine the analysis objective

To get reliable information, we must first define the objective that we want to achieve. Then we know precisely what data should be analysed and over what period, it should come from.

• Analyse company data from different sources

Every entrepreneur who wants to have a comprehensive insight into the company's situation should use all available data - from CRM, accounting and marketing systems, sales systems, as well as those for customer relationship management and logistics services - for analysis. The data should always be analysed in the appropriate context or specificity of the market we operate on. Then even seemingly worthless data can acquire a completely different meaning.

• Evaluate the quality of the data

The data set may be incomplete or contain duplicate records. As a result, any dependencies detected in them may turn out to be wrong. Therefore, special attention should be paid to data quality and reliability of data segmentation.

• Take care of the readability of performed analyses

The final result of the data analysis should always be information which will be useful for the further development of the company or for introducing changes to existing activities. Therefore, we should focus on answering questions:

- how,

- where,

- when,

- what for,

- why,

It is crucial here, instead of showing as many calculations, tables or charts as possible.

• Choose a modern system for data analysis - Microsoft Power BI

If you want to analyse data correctly, it is crucial to choose a system that will make this task easier for you. Power BI from Microsoft gives you the possibility of practical data analysis in real-time and visualisation of data in the form of easy-to-read graphs, which means better monitoring of progress in achieving the assumed goals. Current insight into the information allows you to make more accurate business decisions in almost every area of the company's operation - in customer service, logistics, marketing, finance or sales.