Businesses limit risk, leverage data to make big decisions

Enterprises around the world are limiting risk and leveraging data to make big decisions that will give them a competitive edge, according to report by PwC professional services released Wednesday.

The report – ‘2016 Big Decisions Survey’ – is an insights from top business leaders across industries from a survey of more than 2,100 company decision-makers and leaders from across the globe, over 50 of whom are from Nigeria, reveals that executives understand the importance of data and are using it to inform decisions.

About 30 percent of Nigerian executives describe their organisations as highly data driven, and the need to survive will be key motivators when it comes to strategic decision making for Nigerian companies over the next five years; 32 percent of executives believe their next big decision will be around developing or launching new products or services and that Nigerian executives want.

Ian Aruofor, partner and head of Deals at PwC Nigeria, said: “Data can be an extremely underutilised tool in the corporate world, and a company’s capability to access the right data, at the right time, and then look at it through the right lens, can make or break a bottom line.”

Companies are stuck at a crossroads, with 28 percent of decision-makers polled globally stating that they’re just trying to survive in a state of disruption. Our Nigerian respondents indicated that in order to support their decision-making, data have to be accurate (39%), comprehensive (33%) and timely (28%). This survey demonstrates the often unrealised value of data to lower the inherent risk in decision-making – and sheds light on how companies can reassess the data they have to become stronger and increasingly competitive.

PwC’s newest survey encourages companies to ask the right questions that will lead to data-driven solutions. Companies need to not just collect data, but question their sphere of discovery, understand how to find the questions worth asking (before looking for the answers in the data), build an awareness of who is responsible for making decisions and taking action and really think about how to track outcomes to determine if the best approach is being taken.

Femi Tairu, co-lead, Data and Analytics at PwC Nigeria said, “Businesses make several key decisions every day. In this ever-growing digitalised world, much has changed – the advanced nature of data and analytics underpins how successful and leading organisations make decisions. For these organisations, improving decision speed and sophistication is at the heart of how they plan to maximise enterprise value over the next few years. It is therefore important for Nigerian businesses to seek the right mix of mind and machine to leverage data, understand risk, and gain a competitive edge.”