Every business generates data. It is now widely accepted that data has the potential to generate tremendous business value, but many companies need support with the “how”.
Retrospective and detailed business analysis using data is a given for many businesses, though some industry sectors are quicker to adopt than others. In some organisations, there is still a lack of understanding and even scepticism about the opportunities presented by automation, data science and AI.
Professional Services and Data
Professional services businesses are extremely diverse, operating across sectors including legal, advertising, architecture, accountancy and consultancy and provide bespoke knowledge-based services to their clients.
In financial and related professional services alone, more than 2.4 million people are currently employed in the UK, which accounts for over 7.5% of UK total employment. While London alone is home to over 90,000 diverse professional service providers.
Whatever industry umbrella your professional services firm sits beneath, your data provides a massive business opportunity, no matter the scale of your organisation.
Why Data is Essential to Professional Services Firms
In general, professional service businesses have been slower to capitalize on the ROI opportunity in data. Meanwhile, technological advances made over the last few years in the data space have brought advanced capabilities such as AI, within reach for almost any size of organisation. For those sectors slower to embrace data transformation, the opportunity to gain a huge advantage over the competition is there for the taking.
Customer expectations are increasing across all industries. In Professional Services Firms, client relationships are of utmost importance and as business practices become more and more data-driven results are increasingly tracked and quantified. The end customer uses this data to inform their investment in services and consultancy. The impact on consultancy and outsourced services can be tremendous and professional services outfits need to manage operations and relationships with a data-driven approach, to ensure they continue to add value and stay relevant in this digital and AI age.
The use of high-quality and accurate customer data is essential to businesses across all sectors. Poor quality or out-of-date source data can and should not be relied upon to inform business decisions. PS firms operate as experts in their given domain, charging a high price point for the expertise provided. This magnifies the need for access to accurate data and amplifies the commercial return these businesses can achieve from their investment.
Here are a few more essential considerations of the use of data for a professional services business:
Accurate tracking of team utilisation allows for streamlined and cost-optimised operations and so, an increased bottom line.
Central access to all data sources facilitates data-driven decision making and lays the foundations for democratised access to data and the development of more advanced uses such as data science and AI.
Internal knowledge sharing is intrinsically linked to data. Knowledge sharing can be a huge driver of innovation. It has the power to problem solve, improve efficiency and support employee professional growth.
Identification of upsell/cross-sell opportunities can be achieved through the tracking of customer behaviour and the clarification of customer intent. Data analytics can then identify each customer’s likely response to specific cross and upsell offers.
Building Data Foundations
The first port of call for a professional services business to unlock the value in their data is to create a single unified source of truth, ensuring all data bought into the unified ecosystem is of high quality. This single view can then be used to systematically provide value across the business.
What Kind of Value Can Professional Services Firms Drive from Data?
A data roadmap developed with an experienced data partner will build ROI into the process in a staged manner.
As operational systems are integrated into the single view, with a guaranteed and reliable level of data quality, value can begin to be delivered through process optimisation and cost savings such as report automation.
Customer service & customer experience will be much improved thanks to a single view of the customer. It also offers further opportunities to leverage data through the personalisation of services or marketing.
Real-time access to your data brings with it the ability to query via user-friendly analytics or a visualisation layer, democratising data across the business and making it accessible to non-technical end users.
In the world of professional services, where people are your commodity, the ability to operate with unparalleled efficiency, run with operational excellence and liberate the expertise within your organisation from repetitive and laborious tasks, ensures maximum value can be delivered to your customer, bolstering relationships and maximising revenue.
Advanced Uses of Data in Professional Services
There are endless applications for data in the professional services sphere, and with the rate of progress in data and AI, the number of possibilities available grows daily. A few examples can be seen in the infographic below:
Why Should I Act Now?
The above example use cases are just the tip of the iceberg, and in today’s market, organisations not investing in data initiatives will suffer while their competitors build future success and real enterprise value upon the foundations of their data strategy.
Now is the time for professional services organisations to lay the foundations for future success and begin to uncover the value hidden within their data.
We help organisations accelerate their data journey. Get in touch to find out how we can help you.
Every business generates data. It is now widely accepted that data has the potential to generate tremendous business value, but many companies need support with the “how”.
Retrospective and detailed business analysis using data is a given for many businesses, though some industry sectors are quicker to adopt than others. In some organisations, there is still a lack of understanding and even scepticism about the opportunities presented by automation, data science and AI.
Professional Services and Data
Professional services businesses are extremely diverse, operating across sectors including legal, advertising, architecture, accountancy and consultancy and provide bespoke knowledge-based services to their clients.
In financial and related professional services alone, more than 2.4 million people are currently employed in the UK, which accounts for over 7.5% of UK total employment. While London alone is home to over 90,000 diverse professional service providers.
Whatever industry umbrella your professional services firm sits beneath, your data provides a massive business opportunity, no matter the scale of your organisation.
Why Data is Essential to Professional Services Firms
In general, professional service businesses have been slower to capitalize on the ROI opportunity in data. Meanwhile, technological advances made over the last few years in the data space have brought advanced capabilities such as AI, within reach for almost any size of organisation. For those sectors slower to embrace data transformation, the opportunity to gain a huge advantage over the competition is there for the taking.
Customer expectations are increasing across all industries. In Professional Services Firms, client relationships are of utmost importance and as business practices become more and more data-driven results are increasingly tracked and quantified. The end customer uses this data to inform their investment in services and consultancy. The impact on consultancy and outsourced services can be tremendous and professional services outfits need to manage operations and relationships with a data-driven approach, to ensure they continue to add value and stay relevant in this digital and AI age.
The use of high-quality and accurate customer data is essential to businesses across all sectors. Poor quality or out-of-date source data can and should not be relied upon to inform business decisions. PS firms operate as experts in their given domain, charging a high price point for the expertise provided. This magnifies the need for access to accurate data and amplifies the commercial return these businesses can achieve from their investment.
Here are a few more essential considerations of the use of data for a professional services business:
Accurate tracking of team utilisation allows for streamlined and cost-optimised operations and so, an increased bottom line.
Central access to all data sources facilitates data-driven decision making and lays the foundations for democratised access to data and the development of more advanced uses such as data science and AI.
Internal knowledge sharing is intrinsically linked to data. Knowledge sharing can be a huge driver of innovation. It has the power to problem solve, improve efficiency and support employee professional growth.
Identification of upsell/cross-sell opportunities can be achieved through the tracking of customer behaviour and the clarification of customer intent. Data analytics can then identify each customer’s likely response to specific cross and upsell offers.
Building Data Foundations
The first port of call for a professional services business to unlock the value in their data is to create a single unified source of truth, ensuring all data bought into the unified ecosystem is of high quality. This single view can then be used to systematically provide value across the business.
What Kind of Value Can Professional Services Firms Drive from Data?
A data roadmap developed with an experienced data partner will build ROI into the process in a staged manner.
As operational systems are integrated into the single view, with a guaranteed and reliable level of data quality, value can begin to be delivered through process optimisation and cost savings such as report automation.
Customer service & customer experience will be much improved thanks to a single view of the customer. It also offers further opportunities to leverage data through the personalisation of services or marketing.
Real-time access to your data brings with it the ability to query via user-friendly analytics or a visualisation layer, democratising data across the business and making it accessible to non-technical end users.
In the world of professional services, where people are your commodity, the ability to operate with unparalleled efficiency, run with operational excellence and liberate the expertise within your organisation from repetitive and laborious tasks, ensures maximum value can be delivered to your customer, bolstering relationships and maximising revenue.
Advanced Uses of Data in Professional Services
There are endless applications for data in the professional services sphere, and with the rate of progress in data and AI, the number of possibilities available grows daily. A few examples can be seen in the infographic below:
Why Should I Act Now?
The above example use cases are just the tip of the iceberg, and in today’s market, organisations not investing in data initiatives will suffer while their competitors build future success and real enterprise value upon the foundations of their data strategy.
Now is the time for professional services organisations to lay the foundations for future success and begin to uncover the value hidden within their data.
