What are companies doing with the astronomical amount of data we all generate? Is all data synonymous with knowledge? How can managers use this information to ensure the success of their companies?

If a few years ago, companies could be managed based on more or less stable variables, today, or more specifically, since the pandemic situation that affected us all, management has become much more difficult and complex. People are more demanding and informed, as are the markets, which are now more volatile, as is the entire ecosystem. As a result of the uncertain environment we live in, management variables have become more complex.

There is no longer any doubt that the future is digital and belongs to the companies that best know how to transform data into insights for the business.

For example, there is no immediate answer to the question “What is the best management strategy?” because I would say it is very complex. Indeed, best practices can be part of the solution, such as technologies capable of helping managers leverage their businesses. Curiosity is perhaps the biggest driver of success these days. When combined with increasingly complex disruptive technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence systems, humans’ curiosity can achieve and create the most innovative solutions that are often the most effective catalysts for positive change in organisations.

The VUCA concept is an acronym in English, formed by the first letter of the words: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. The term originated in the military universe, more precisely in the post-Cold War period. In the 1990s, the US Army began to use the acronym VUCA to describe possible war scenarios and contexts. This way, it was possible to make contingency plans to act accordingly in each situation.

Investing in Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence solutions is today synonymous with more knowledge, more flexibility and higher speed. Of course, with some nuances, these concepts are still used today to describe our world, a world of rapid change and several constraints. The fast changes in the market and consumer behaviour require agility, strategy and precision in decision-making.

With the speed at which changes occur, companies today must be more competitive, innovative and creative to accelerate growth and competitiveness. Therefore, it is fundamental to look at technological solutions as one of the fundamental pillars for organisations to stay in the market.

Here are some good practices that we believe are part of the solution to success:

1. Re-learn how to walk: we need to look at our strategy and, when necessary, start again and/or readapt it. The first path is only sometimes the most effective one. If you need to go back, go back before it is too late;
2. Be patient and calm: make decisions based on authentic and accurate data;
3. Look carefully (see): looking and seeing are different. We need more attentive looks to find good opportunities, whether in terms of talent, solutions and technologies, partnerships or markets to enter. There is a world of possibilities, but it is necessary to have the right insights to identify them and run fewer risks;
4. Thinking “outside the box” is the only way for companies to survive and be competitive. It is not easy, but it is something that technology puts more easily within everyone’s reach. Thinking differently and outside the box will distinguish us as a company, as business partners, and as employees.

Successful results belong to the companies that transform data into insights, create opportunities, and become more strategic and innovative.