Strategies for SMBs to Address Data Analytics Challenges

It is no secret that in today's age, the world has become very dependent on data. It is likewise not news that organizations presently generate a wealth of information every day - - information that contains exceptionally significant insights that are pivotal for driving informed decision-making and acquiring an upper hand in the market. Nonetheless, this effort isn't straightforward by any stretch of the imagination for small and medium-sized organizations (SMBs). SMBs today must deal with different challenges in accessing these insights. Unlike the case with bigger organizations that have the resources and assets to embrace excellent data analytics tools and solutions, SMBs face difficulties that prevent their endeavors actually to use data analytics. From customer interactions to marketing campaign performance, finding one's way around this information and its intricacy is a huge obstacle for SMBs that are hoping to improve their operations and boost their competitiveness.

So, in this blog, I will talk in quick detail about the unique data analytics challenges that SMBs usually encounter.

Data Analytics For SMBs: An Overview

• Organizations that utilize data analytics in their operations record a typical increment of 5%-10% in their revenues.
• Organizations with data-driven operations are 23x more likely to obtain new clients and 6x more likely to retain clients.

Data Analytics: Challenges That SMBs Need to Watch Out For:-

• Limited resources: SMBs frequently struggle with difficulties borne out of a deficiency of resources— that are fundamental for setting up an able data analytics team. The expense of recruiting data scientists and analysts can be restrictive while training existing staff likewise requires extra investments. To conquer this obstacle, SMBs can check out alternative arrangements, for example, cloud-based analytics platforms, which offer pre-built tools for data analytics. They can likewise consider outsourcing data analysis to managed service providers or maybe even use citizen developer tools.
• Data security: SMBs also often encounter issues while implementing comprehensive data security measures. This can likewise be ascribed to the availability of only limited resources, leaving delicate client and business data powerless against digital risks, such as, data breaches. To address this challenge, SMBs should focus on data security by implementing access controls, encryption for data both at rest and in transit, and keeping up with regular data backups for recovery. Giving security awareness training to the staff to alleviate the scope for human error is likewise a smart choice.
• Data quality: Another key challenge for SMBs in this regard is related to data quality -- an issue rooted in inconsistency in data formats, missing information, duplicate records, etc. All these factors compromise the reliability of insights based on such data. This obstacle can be tackled by setting up precise data standards to govern the collection, storage, and formatting of data. Implementing data validation processes to detect errors during entry is also advisable.
• Finding the right tools for data analysis: Picking one option from the extensive range of data analytics tools currently available in the market can also prove to be massively challenging. To find one's way around this dilemma effectively, SMBs ought to begin the selection process by clearly defining their analysis needs as well as the type of data they plan to work with. After that, thorough research on available tools, in view of factors such as features, pricing, ease of use, is also vital for informed decision-making that is in sync with the business' needs.

Final Words

Suffice it to say that acknowledging these challenges and implementing the appropriate analytics for small businesses would help SMBs overcome the hurdles associated with data analytics adoption.