The Data Strategy Course: Building a Data-driven Business

Are you interested in learning how data can help a business thrive and prosper?

Do you want to be able to leverage the value of your business data?

If so, then this is the perfect course for you!

The hype around AI, data science, analytics and business intelligence is at its peak. Almost all companies are aware that data can help them improve their performance in some way, shape, or form. However, the majority of business executives commit the same crucial mistake:

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat’’

Sun Tzu, Chinese military strategist

Collecting and analysing data for the sake of working with numbers is far from optimal.

Data is only as valuable as the insights you will obtain from it.

So, to position your business for success in today’s AI and data-driven world, you have to start by reflecting on several key questions.

What are the key decisions your company will make that can be improved with the right data?

How is data going to help your firm improve and automate business processes?

In what way can data make your products or services better?

To what extent is your business’s data valuable to external parties who might be willing to pay for it?

It is much better to try and answer such fundamental questions first, rather than focusing extensively on data analysis techniques and data storage infrastructure requirements before you have defined a roadmap of how data will help your business in the long run.

A smart business executive focuses on data strategy first.

In this course, we will cover several important topics that will prove to be invaluable if you are:

- a business owner,

- a business executive

- an aspiring data practitioner.

We will provide context and help you understand why data is one of the most important for any business today. We’ll talk about hundreds of ways companies have benefited from a well-structured data strategy in real life. By the end of the course you will be able to recognize data-related opportunities in your own organization.

The course starts by focusing on the main ways in which data can help a business:

- use data to improve business decisions.

- use data to understand your customers and markets

- use data to provide more intelligent products and services

- use data to improve your business processes.

- use data to generate a meaningful revenue stream

We’ll discuss how companies have benefited from data in each of these scenarios and the practical implications you need to bear in mind before embarking on your data projects.

Then, in the next section of the course, we will do one of my favorite exercises that I do when working with and consulting for my clients. I will show you how to define your data use cases. We will brainstorm the data opportunities for your business and identify possible data use cases, ensuring a clear link to your strategic business goals. We will take this process as an opportunity to review your existing strategy to ensure it is still relevant in today's business world. We will then make sure you don't fall into the trap of identifying too many use cases - it is not about finding as many as you can, rather than the most important ones.

Then the course continues by focusing on sourcing and collecting data. An important topic that involves several key considerations. We will distinguish between structured and unstructured data, internal and external data, and so on. By the end of this section, you will have an idea how a company should approach data collection, and understand the different sources of data that could be used besides internal data.

This is a truly comprehensive course. We’ve also included sections on:

- Data governance, ethics, and trust

- How to turn data into insights (a brief description of the various techniques that can be used to analyze data)

- How to create the appropriate technology and data infrastructure in your company

- How to build the necessary data competencies in your organization

- How to execute and revisit your data strategy

I’m very excited that you are interested in this subject because I believe that this is one of the most fascinating aspects of today’s business world. Innovation through the use of data and data analysis is something I am very passionate about. I’ll be happy if you start or advance your data analysis journey with the Data Strategy course and I hope I will see you inside the course!

Bernard Marr