4 Trends in Enterprise Data You Should Act on in 2021

94% of business professionals say data and analytics are essential to their business growth and digital transformation.

15:42 04 February 2022

Let’s talk about tech! 2020, the year of the coronavirus pandemic, resulted in a lockdown that transformed the digital world. As such, enterprises looking to boost profitability and provide top-notch customer experiences must not only find out the latest 2021 tech trends but act on them too.

 

According to a Business2Community study, 94% of business professionals say data and analytics are essential to their business growth and digital transformation. 

 

The same study indicates that 56% of the organizations that use analytics are experiencing faster and more effective decision making. More than half (51%) are also experiencing better financial performance thanks to these analytics. 

 

With these figures, it’s impossible to question the importance of data to business growth. Together with analytics, data is king. And in a world of hyperlinks and 5G, it will only continue to grow. 

 

Early forecasts by ReportLinker expect the global enterprise data management market to increase from USD 77.9 billion in 2020 to USD 122.9 billion by 2025. This is a compound annual growth rate of 9.5%. 

 

 

Having highlighted the statistics above, it’s clear that data and analytics are a fundamental part of running a business in this new age. More importantly, they’re here to stay. Businesses that don’t hop on this train are likely to simply fade away.

 

Like everything with great advantages, there are downsides to counter these. A major detriment of digitalization is that businesses and even consumers are more susceptible to cyberattacks. 

 

As a business owner, you should endeavor to learn about these network security challenges. This way, you're adequately informed to select the best enterprise network security products.

 

Importantly, data is always evolving. To avoid getting left behind, companies must find an innovative system to grow with it. This article will walk you through four trends in enterprise data that you should act on in 2021. 

 

AIOps Will Become Essential

In simple terms, AIOps (artificial intelligence for IT operations) refers to technology platforms that allow for the automation of IT operations through machine learning and analytics.

 

It enables one to automatically detect and respond to real-time issues arising from the ever-growing data that’s available on various IT operation tools and devices. It also provides historical analytics. This way, you can be sure no data goes uncounted or unattended.

 

Since 2018, there has been an 83% increase in organizations deploying or looking to deploy AIOps. This is according to a study by Digital Enterprise Journal (DEJ) in May 2020. Artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities continue to improve, and as they improve, AIOps possibilities will do the same. 

 

All of these will work together to make data operations cheaper and more efficient. Machine learning will also generate more actionable insights.

 

Cloud Complexity Will Continue

According to Gartner, by 2022, public cloud services will be essential for 90% of data and analytics innovation. In the tech space, storing data in the cloud has been a trend for years now. 

 

The best remote IT support software usually are not just ISO certified, but also offers cloud compatibility. In 2021, there will be no difference. If anything, there’ll be a need to create more space to accommodate a large number of data in this age.

 

In moving data around, even with a private enterprise cloud, cloud complexity can occur. Cloud complexity is the effect of moving data rapidly to the cloud without adequately factoring in its positioning. The result of this is duplicate data and the absence of other forms of data. 

 

Lots of companies have to deal with cloud complexity, and this occurrence will likely increase this year as data becomes even larger. To eliminate this, ensure data is migrated correctly.

 

Here are some tips to ensure correct cloud migration:

• Plan your migration. Cloud migration is not a process you can rush. If, as a business owner, you do not adequately plan and factor in its effects, it can do more harm than good.

• Adopt a strategic approach to implementation. It’s essential to develop a strategy to achieve implementation. This strategy has to complement your business needs. In the end, it’s counterproductive to implement a random strategy.

• Migrating content. This is a crucial step in cloud migration. Before you reach it, decide on vital data forms and those you can function without. This way, you’re ensuring the strict migration of necessary data.

• Set a timeline and stick to it. Doing this will ensure you don’t spend an excessive length of time migrating your data. Following your timeline strictly is a great strategy to help you return to business quickly.

 

To get more out of cloud technology and make your business more dynamic, it’s advisable to take advantage of automatic call distribution software. It’s also recommended for business owners to use cloud-based technologies such as VoIP conference phone. 

 

VoIP stands for voice over internet protocol. It converts your voice to a digital signal, allowing you to make calls directly from a computer. 

 

 

Enterprises Will Compete Based on Speed

In 2021, only the fastest will gain traction. Therefore, business owners should endeavor to respond swiftly to their customers’ demands, rapidly provide services, offer storage solutions, and prevent latency as much as possible. 

 

According to a study by Akamai:

• Conversion rates may drop by 7% if there is as little as a 100-millisecond delay in website load time.
• 53% of site visitors using a mobile phone will leave a web page if it doesn't load within three seconds.
• A two-second delay in the load time of web pages increases audience bounce rates by 103%. 

 

Latency is a period of lag between loading a page or an application and getting the desired results. It can also be a lag time between user interaction and the presentation of content. 

 

In this present age, with technology advancing rapidly, some applications cannot afford to run with even a short latency period. A classic example is your web application. Others are cloud gaming systems, online calling, virtual reality, and eCommerce platforms.

 

• Web application: Everybody uses the World Wide Web these days. More importantly, a sizable percentage of consumers want quick answers and will get discouraged or disappointed when content doesn't come up as soon as they search.

• Cloud gaming: Today, many more people are using cloud gaming. Its running has to be seamless for the best experience. Picture a scenario where a user is playing FIFA 21 on the cloud. They attempt to make a pass and score a goal, only to have to wait three minutes to see the goal happen. This can be annoying and frustrating for the user, discouraging further use. 

• Virtual Reality: The idea of virtual reality is to mirror real-life events. If it looks anything less than reality, its purpose is defeated and the consumer loses interest. When they do, business owners lose their market.

• eCommerce: These days, online shoppers want to see prices, pictures, and reviews all at once. If you're a business owner with a high stock volume in your online store, you may want to consider an enterprise eCommerce platform organized with stock management software to ensure your customers have full coverage.

 

 

Data and Analytics Will Merge

This is not a new technology advancement. However, this merger will be more commonplace in 2021 as many people now shop via online stores. 

 

This makes it more critical for business owners to answer questions like 'who are our real consumers, what problems do they encounter, why do they shop with us, why don't they shop with us' and others all in real-time. 

 

These questions don’t only require answers. There’s a need to put figures to them too. In today’s fast-paced digital world, these figures are essential for adequate planning, advertising, and marketing. 

 

Merging analytics and data will help with the following:

• Dynamic pricing
• Product life cycle
• Personalizing recommendations or requests
• Fraudulent practices on the site
• Damage control
• Product maintenance 

 

A serious business enterprise will endeavor to follow this data trend. Not only will it significantly boost profit margins, but it will also help to decipher the needs of consumers. 

 

Keeping Up with Enterprise Trends

Precise data will continue to be a significant driving force for the businesses of today. It’s also becoming increasingly difficult to remain competitive at this time without a good knowledge of how data works. 

 

Everything revolves around the consumer, and data bridges the gap between consumers and business owners. With it, it’s possible to figure out their needs at the click of a button. It’s an essential part of scaling user research for a large enterprise too.

 

Similarly, it makes it possible to provide answers to questions in microseconds. All of these upsides combine to and enhance the overall user experience and efficiency of your enterprise operations.

 

Hence it would be wise to invest in cloud PBX solution as a means to jump on these trends and get even better at implementation. In this digital age, the functionality and longevity of your business enterprise depend on it.

 

Richard Conn - Senior Director, Demand Generation, 8x8

Richard Conn is the Senior Director for Demand Generation at 8x8, a leading communication platform with integrated cloud contact centre, call queuing system, voice, video, and chat functionality. Richard is an analytical & results-driven digital marketing leader with a track record of achieving major ROI improvements in fast-paced, competitive B2B environments. Check out his LinkedIn.