Without a shadow of a doubt, data must be at the crux of strategic decision making process. Hence, nowadays it is not uncommon to spot a C-level position responsible of that crucial function; Chief Data Officer. In line with that, data can supply perceptions that support business to respond to its fundamental questions, such as; how can the business enhance customer’s retention and satisfaction levels? As earlier said, data guides to awareness, from which managers and business owners can take actions and decisions that boost the operations. Accordingly, at the outset of decision-making process, we should begin with the business strategy, as getting confused by the potentials which big data can provide along with getting lost in the hype surrounding data is quite easy. Hence, starting with a robust strategy can help to overlook the hype and focus on the difference that is about to have on business (Marr, 2016).

The subsequent step is to recognize the type of data the business wants to acquire or access. It is important to realize that no sort of data is integrally better than the other. Thus, business must emphasize on recognizing the best data for them, the one that possibly will assist them answering their most persistent challenges and bring on their strategic goals. As soon as the business identifies the data it needs, it is advisable to check if the business already possesses few of the sought information, even if it is not instantly noticeable. In-house data represents everything the business presently has or can reach. If the data is not available, then other methods of gathering can be considered, whether that is going to be executed through existing systems or by acquiring or accessing external data.

Subsequent to that, the process of data aggregation begins. Most of this stage depends on allocating the procedures and people who will collect and control the data. Business might buy access to pre-analyzed data sets, in which case data collection is not needed. However, what actually happens, many data endeavors demand some volume of data collection. Subsequently, the analysis stage commences, during which the business analyzes the data to infer useful and meaningful business insights, which will ultimately (if properly analyzed) offer a significant value to the decision-making process.

References: Marr, B. (2016) Data-Driven Decision Making: 10 Simple Steps for Any Business. [Online]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/06/14/data-driven-decision-making-10-simple-steps-for-any-business/#30ceb5675e1e. (Accessed: December 12 2019).