Data, a genuine component of corporate assets
Companies accumulate an impressive amount of data, not only on their customers, but also on their activities, experiences and so on.
If properly managed, this data, which evolves on a daily basis, becomes part of the company’s information assets.
Many organizations (OECD, IFRS, etc.) consider this asset to be a major“intangible asset” of the company, which should be reflected in the financial statements.
It costs money to own data!
Data and its management represent costs for the company.
Costs can be accounted for as follows:
- Direct costs: data acquisition, storage and processing, i.e. budgets dedicated to the smooth running of the data management system.
- Indirect costs: lack of quality, loss of productivity, etc.
- Hidden costs: there are many unexpected costs: invoicing errors, loss of merchandise and reshipment, loss of credibility with a customer, etc.
Added together, these costs can add up to substantial sums.
For example, taking a database of around 200 tables with 5,000 rows and an error rate of 4% (considered low by specialists), total costs amount to over CHF 200,000 per year.
The value of data
Given the cost involved, there’s no point in accumulating data if it isn’t valued.
Yet this is what companies have been doing for years, before realizing the potential they could have.
So the question is, “How can we make the most of our information assets?
- Analyze data
The most obvious use of this data is to analyze it in order to adapt the services offered to customers and their evolving needs.
This will lead to the creation of new services and thus a new source of revenue for the company.
- Anticipating needs
This is wherepredictive analysis comes in.
To ensure that a company doesn’t miss out on potential growth, the various data it holds must be analyzed.
With this information, the company will be able to anticipate market trends and create services adapted to future customer needs.
- Going into detail
The ultimate part of data enhancement involvesincreasing corporate knowledge.
The advent of Big Data, combined with artificial intelligence, makes it possible to analyze information assets in depth, enabling the company to better understand customer behavior (externally) or to develop its know-how (internally).
This enhancement gives the company permanent flexibility, enabling it to evolve over time and face up to the competition.
Data, like all tangible or intangible assets, must be valued in order to make the most of it.
They represent a real cost, and therefore need to be made profitable.
They are also a real source of potential income if they are properly exploited.
To ensure that they are put to good use, it is essential that they are used appropriately.
A control system is therefore essential to ensure that the rules laid down are properly followed.
This is the subject of our next chapter.
