As information technology evolves, it has become increasingly necessary for enterprise data to be managed just as much as any other function such as labor, finance etc. As enterprises grow, their infrastructure becomes more distributed, with the increasing workforce, which can lead to acute data management issues.
However, it is possible to increase the value of enterprise data using an organized approach to collection, storage, analysis, and use. All these together form enterprise data management.
In this blog, we look at enterprise data management and explore the benefits of implementing it.
Enterprise Data Management, or EDM, involves setting policies and standards to organize and manage data collection, storage, access, analysis, security and more to establish data governance within the organization. Enterprise data management plays a significant role in helping build a standardized system that can source, access, monitor, store, manage, secure and ultimately share the data across different business functions.
The data collected, stored and shared within an organization is called enterprise data; different departments and geographical locations use this data. Enterprise data includes structured data in spreadsheets and databases and unstructured data such as images, video content, etc. Enterprise data can be in many forms like such as -
● Operational data that consists of financial information, sales and transactional records, customer orders, and much more.
● Data from application developers, network logs and alerts generated from IT infrastructure, etc.
● Strategic data such as data that is generated from market statistics, CRM systems, sales reporting, trends and other analytical data.
● Application related information that includes data related to logistics, GPS, IoT, web and social media applications and much more
Data management for enterprise services can help identify and reduce or eliminate existing or any potential issues related to enterprise data. This enables various departments of an organization to access accurate data in real-time.
•Data standardization: Various teams within the organization may need to use the same metrics, for example, product developers and the service department may need to use the same data to determine specific customer-centric behavior. Enterprise data management can ensure that the same or single version of standardized data is available to all departments, which allows the organization to work towards a common goal to drive business growth.
•Enables better business intelligence: Business intelligence enables organizations to make better and informed business decisions by gathering, analyzing and visualizing the data. Organizations can use BI tools to help identify trends, opportunities and threats to make informed decisions.
•Higher productivity: All businesses rely on data, and easily accessible data generates better productivity. Bigger the organization, more difficult it becomes to get the relevant data when required – raising tickets, sending mails and taking necessary authorization all affect productivity. EDM systems enable easy access to information when required, ensuring that time is spent working with and not searching for data. This ease of access results in higher productivity.
•Smoother workflows: Customers demand service and any organization that takes too long to respond is promptly discarded. Businesses must function seamlessly, and investing in EDM gives them the ability of operational efficiency. EDM can be the system that makes for a productive organization without frustrating workflows.
•Enhances compliance: Data compliance is a growing concern for enterprises. One effective way to deal with and improve compliance is using EDM to help with data governance, risk mitigation and security. EDM tools are designed to give an overview of how an enterprise works and its users. These tools can also help identify and report anomalies indicating any potential breach or violations in regulatory working.
•Data consolidation: Enterprise data management makes it possible to consolidate data across multiple sources and makes it accessible for users. Data consolidation helps enterprises make informed decisions about their processes and operations.
•Reduce risk of data loss: Enterprise data management helps prevent data loss by ensuring timely and complete backup of enterprise data. Retrieval of critical information during any exigent situation is also easily possible.
•Reduce costs: Storing the ever-increasing volume of data generated and collected in traditional storage mediums is challenging. EDM tools can help reduce costs related to IT infrastructure, storage and backup by automating storage processes without the need for manual intervention.
The market for digital products is growing and enterprises need to harness the potential of data to achieve consistent performance. This can be achieved using enterprise data management with a reliable and sustainable approach. The benefits of EDM are many including increased efficiency, risk reduction, enhanced customer service, etc. Investment in enterprise data management at an early stage can enable organizations to take full advantage of the EDM.
Kaushal Shah manages digital marketing communications for the enterprise technology services provided by Rishabh Software.