Using data and analytics to help leaders make better decisions

Organisational leaders are leveraging data and analytics to get deeper insights about their business to help them make better decisions.

[L-R] Colin Dominish, head of podium services, Lendlease; Suzie Cardwell, chief data officer, Nine, Claudine Ogilvie, non-executive director, Cuscal; and Athina Mallis.

At Digital Nation’s Digital As Usual: AI, Automation and Analytics event, data and analytics experts spoke to attendees about how they’re using data to improve processes.

Colin Dominish, head of podium services at Lendlease explained to audiences how data is pivotal to understanding how a building works and how people work within a building.

Using data points, Dominish explained how it has created a “completely different way” for properties to function.

“It's a lot more about the people in the building than it is about the building itself. Yet the building's important in the equation,” he said.

“We bring together data sets around the weather, what's happening with the transport network, what is happening with events that are associated with a precinct or a building, we look at employee or shopper or tenant experiences within a building and how people behave.”

While they do not have any information that can identify someone, Dominish said Podium is tracking how people use the building most effectively.

“Then bring those data sets about people back into how the building needs to operate. It could be the temperature setpoint, or it could be what your edge back systems doing throughout the day to keep it cool," he said.

"It could be how many people you need to fit into a collaborative space, there are so many different areas."

Relationship between AI and data

Claudine Ogilvie, non-executive director at financial services company Cuscal said there cannot be good AI, without good data.

She said when speaking to the board about using data and analytics for better decision-making, she highlights three key factors boards will be thinking about  

Firstly, how are data and analytics contributing to an organisation's strategy?

“Or how's it helping you monitor that you're achieving the goals you set out to achieve?” she said.

Secondly, risk, if you're reporting to the board, you should be aware of and very familiar with the risks associated with your part of business.

“How are you reporting on those risks, what kind of data and analytics are going to help the board understand that you've got this under control, or to help elevate where there might be challenges where you might need investment, and where you need to go to meet your board risk appetite?” she explained.

Thirdly, she said data and analytics will need to impact the people and culture piece.

With all this in mind, Ogilvie said with this data and analytics, they should be providing both foresight and insight.

“Insight is about bringing a story of being able to connect those dots. But foresight is a little bit harder if you're talking forecasting, predictive analytics, also bringing outside information, not just the inside information to deal with the organisation,” she explained.  

Ogilvie noted that data and analytics should be helping your organisation respond strategically and not react.

Single view of the customer

At media giant Nine, chief data officer Suzie Cardwell explained how they have collected a substantial amount of data from their various brands like the AFR, SMH and Stan and used it to create a single view of a customer.

She said from 19.8 million Australians coming to one of those brands on a monthly basis, Nine has a substantial amount of data from their audiences.

“We have been running a big program of work to consolidate all of those sources of audience data that we have,” she explained.

“We are in the process now of creating the single viewer of the consumer or the single view of our audience member so we can understand who is a Stan subscriber, who also watches our content online, who might also be going to the Sydney Morning Herald, but not yet a subscriber.”

With that single view, Cardwell explained Nine is using its data and analytics to inform three main areas of the business.

“First of all, content creation, what is the content that each of those audiences, each of those audience segments and types want from us and let's make some more,” she said.

“In the case of the Sydney Morning Herald, if we've got someone who is coming to us regularly and reading about New South Wales politics, they haven't quite tipped over into subscription, what's the next article that we need to write, to get them to become a subscriber?”

Data and analytics also help inform Nine’s product elements.

“Most of our audiences now come to us at on a digital touchpoint, they come to us on a site, an app or a content recommendation, and putting the right content in front of those people is important,” Cardwell explained.

“We've spoken quite a bit about personalisation, we also do content recommendation at that segment and that audience level, how do we drive that further?”

Lastly, they use it for commercialisation purposes, Cardwell said.

“We have an extremely large advertising business, we have built out a large targeted advertising, product and capability that helps our advertisers find the right audience at the right moment and serve them with the right message,” she added.

To learn more about how analytics can transform your organisation. Read our latest Digital As Usual: AI, Automation and Analytics report here.