Ask any T-Rex, evolution is not the problem, but failing to evolve is.
Take, for instance, the challenge most enterprises face with accessing data across departments, locations and time. No CEO, CGO, CMO, CTO, CIO, or CINO takes comfort in making decisions with stale or inaccurate information. Yet critical decision making is often done this way because C-level management has limited visibility into what's going on across the organization.
Leveraging up-to-date and complete information is what companies need to make smart decisions and stay ahead of constant market shifts. No matter the power or position of an apex predator on the food chain, the inability to adapt to change can mean the beginning of the end.
Creating top-line growth requires a clear field of vision. Complete, fresh, accurate, and timely information from multiple sources is required to reduce risk and achieve business goals. Unfortunately, data is stored in individual, disparate silos and lacks integration, making it inaccessible and creating questionable intelligence as a result.
Getting blind-sided by changes in customer tastes, desires, and needs have meant the end to some of the most venerated brands out there. Do you remember Kodak, Compaq, Blockbuster, Borders, and Circuit City? To avoid meeting the same sticky end, companies must harness the collective imagination and intelligence of an enterprise's human resources — both internally and externally — to keep the pulse on customer needs, and then apply business process and control unique to your company or industry. But doing so requires access to stockpiled records.
Feel like it's impossible to aggregate all of your company's data? Don't worry, there's good news. Not all data should be aggregated, only key datasets are needed. Understanding which data should be centralized requires extensive experience and a developed set of best practices. Being new to the company, I've observed how the 200+ software implementations and more than 16 years of experience has enabled Sopheon to accurately hone and refine a set of valuable best practices to help our customers get the most out of their data from our innovation software.
A culture change from data hoarding and silos of information to a culture that relies on transparency is not easy, but it is absolutely necessary to achieve a culture of innovation, to stay relevant and to evolve.