This article is by Dan Sommer and originally appeared on the Qlik Blog here: https://blog.qlik.com/trends-2020-why-analysis-is-no-longer-enough
We were supposed to be more connected, but we live in a world that is getting more and more fragmented by the day. This is the case with data, but also with social media, politics, regulations, education and business. Why is there so little common ground?
Analytics is absolutely critical, but done on its own may lead to diminishing returns, as it will only break components down into further parts, doesn’t integrate various elements, and tends to miss the bigger picture. There are some business problems that cannot be effectively solved with analytics.
In other situations, analytics may lead to plain wrong decisions. The more moving data we have, the more we need synthesis. If you want to look at combinations of data, you’ll need synthesis. Does your business need to think in non-linear ways and see the wider picture? Well, then, analysis is no longer enough. You need synthesis AND analysis.
Thematically, in the “2020 Data & BI Trends” eBook and upcoming webinar, we call this “laying the data mosaic”. The individual tiles by themselves don’t account for much, but, if you put them together and zoom out, a bigger picture emerges. In doing so, you uplevel data and analytics to become strategic and innovative elements of your enterprise, helping you navigate the complex regulatory maze in which we find ourselves.
Businesses that are good at synthesis and analysis are beginning to break away from the pack. They lead their sectors, with some leading even across sectors. New digital conglomerates merge business models and data from different disciplines to provide cross-vertical solutions.
Innovations, such as connecting payments with messaging, is just one example of how distributed data together with analytics is a winning formula.