Lee Stern
April 25, 2024
Harnessing the potential of all the data companies have at their disposal is easier said than done. Building the necessary back-end systems and workflows to do so, with the aim of delivering greater value for end users, is a challenge facing engineering teams. Often under-resourced - in terms of size, funds or their current tech stack - they're held back from delivering progress for their company through best data practice and data optimisation.
Last week, talking about the data problems and challenges facing lean engineering teams, we covered the importance of cleaning house; ordering data so it can provide value and insight to decision makers and clients alike. This week, we'll discuss if you're sweating your data for all its worth and what might be holding you back.
Part 2: Data Optimisation - Untapped Data
We know the potential that lies within companies' vast troves of data. Yet, limited resources and technical constraints often prevent at-capacity engineering teams tapping into them. Consider a real estate agent not overlaying buyers and sellers data. Within a single residential estate agent group, a new listing is taken on and the property aligns to the criteria for a buyer on file. It would make sense to have an alert system raising the match, but this isn't a given in the industry.
The day-to-day reality for many leaner engineering teams is working reactively, rather than proactively, undertaking operational tasks to keep critical systems up and running. This comes at the expense of contributing to higher value projects, or building new products that could lift business performance, such as the alert system mentioned above.
The result is a lose-lose. The projects and improvements which could deliver material improvements for end users never come to fruition, therefore holding back the business commercially. Furthermore, engineering teams personal development is stunted, with them unable to tackle challenging tasks that will facilitate their professional growth. The potential pitfalls are lost customers, lost revenue and an unhappy workforce.
Finding tools that support engineering teams to automate laborious tasks and/or build systems - that sweat data for all its worth - fast, efficiently and to a high standard aren't pie in the sky, thankfully. Innovative and lean tech teams are not mutually exclusive thanks to new solutions.
Next week, in our final instalment of Unlocking the Power of Data - Overcoming Challenges for Engineering Teams, we'll raise the often problematic constraints of legacy data systems.
If any of the above challenges sound familiar to you, feel free to drop us a message so we can have a conversation. we'd love to hear from you!