“I believe that every organization can make better decisions with adequate and well-analyzed data”
It is no doubt that businesses operating in today’s clime need to constantly evolve if they must remain relevant and profitable. Considering the fact that businesses have to deal with challenges such as rapidly changing markets, economic uncertainty, dynamic political landscapes, unpredictable consumer attitudes, global politics, and even international laws & privacy policies, the tolerance for making mistakes is quickly fading off.
In my years of working with data and leading data-driven quests in my organization, I have always met people who will ask me the question “What is data analysis?” And how can an individual or organization make smart choices?
I believe every organization can make smart choices by collecting valuable and actionable information which is called data because it is only when they gather this that they can make better-informed decisions!
Oladipupo says collecting data should be a common-sense approach in every organization’s strategy. No organization should make important decisions without first finding out what’s at stake, the pros and cons, and the possible outcomes. Organizations need information; they need data. This is where data analysis comes to play.
What Is Data Analysis?
The definition of Data Analysis differs from one professional to another, but we all agree on the definition that Data analysis involves collecting data, cleaning data, processing data, and extracting actionable & relevant insights that help businesses and individuals make informed decisions.
Going through this kind of process helps business to eliminate decision-making based on opinions, feelings, and guesswork. It supports business decision-making by providing useful insights, patterns, and statistics, which are often presented in charts, images, tables, and graphs.
Oladipupo also believes that we all carry out basic data analysis in our day-to-day activities, and the example he says is in our comparative analysis when making decisions, we do this by comparing what has happened in the past with what is currently happening in a bid to make a future based projection or decision.
When asked about the term “big data” Oladipupo responded by saying. Data analysis plays a crucial role in processing big data into useful information, and big data is just a huge data set that cannot be processed by traditional data analytics tools.
Why is Data Analysis Important?
Below is a list of some of the reasons why Oladipupo believes data analysis is important and should be considered a crucial part of doing business.
- Improved customer satisfaction can be achieved through data analysis when you analyse the various feedback gotten from customers
- Reducing operational costs is something data analysis can help you achieve especially in areas where your business needs more resources, and also in areas that are not productive and should be eliminated.
- Better problem-solving ability is also possible with data analysis because data provides businesses with information that allows you to see areas of your businesses where you can make the right choices and avoid costly pitfalls.
All of this can however be achieved in a proper data analysis process, which then leads us to the question of, what is the Data Analysis Process?
What Is the Data Analysis Process?
Oladipupo says the data analysis process can be regarded as all that is involved in gathering the information, processing it, exploring the data, and using it to find patterns and other insights. He says the process can consist of:
- Data Gathering.
- Data Collection.
- Data Cleaning.
- Data Analysis.
- Data Interpretation.
- Data Visualization.
Oladipupo also stated that there are various types of data analysis which include;
- Descriptive Analysis;
- Diagnostic Analysis;
- Predictive Analysis;
- Prescriptive Analysis;
How to Become a Data Analyst
Oladipupo believes that the first step to becoming a data analyst is to first research what it takes to become a data analyst, he also recommends learning through hands-on projects. Taking an online course in data analysis could also be of value but a student must be ready to get his/her hands dirty by focusing on acquiring the right skillsets instead of focusing on just acquiring a certificate of completion.
Data Analytics has now been adopted across every industry and company size, and it is playing a huge part in helping businesses understand their customer’s needs and to also improve upon their products or services.
“I believe that every organization can make better decisions with adequate and well-analyzed data”
Oladipupo is the Customer support manager with Cummins West Africa, prior to that, he worked with Interswitch Group as a Project Manager and Scrum Master where he implemented different Fintech products across Nigeria, Gambia, and Uganda.
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