Forget hindsight being 20/20. With real-time analytics, improved foresight is also within reach.
From finance to marketing to operations, businesses are looking at real-time data across departments in order to find new insights that can drive efficiency.
In fact, 91% of CIOs, IT managers and developers agree that analyzing real-time data can help their company’s bottom line, according to VoltDB.
Think about it: if you’re only looking at historical data, you’re not necessarily able to make the most accurate decisions if something changes from the time between the old and new data. For example, if you looked in the newspaper at yesterday’s closing prices for stocks and then called your financial advisor to make an investment based on that information, you might miss a significant change in the stock price that would cause you to rethink your investment.
In addition to making more accurate decisions, real-time data helps companies adjust their strategy to meet their revenue and profit goals.
With revenue, for example, historical data may indicate what your sales will be for the current month, but if you’re only look at past data, you won’t be able to correct course along the way.
Yet if you can analyze sales numbers in real-time, you might see that one department is punching above its weight, while another isn’t meeting its goals. The company can then decide how to best handle this, such as by cutting off what’s not working or investing more resources to boost the lagging department.
As for profitability, companies can use real-time data to see where cost inefficiencies lie, such as with staffing. One healthcare organization, for instance, used real-time analytics on patient admissions and staffing in order to properly align these areas. As a result, they saved $850,000 in overtime costs in the first year alone, which was 17% more than they paid to implement the analytics system, finds Harvard Business Review.
Companies can also increase operational efficiency in areas such as energy, which is the largest operating expense in commercial buildings, according to Energy Star.
Using energy analytics software (EAS), businesses might find that the bulk of their energy expenses come from running a certain machine every afternoon. If that machine could run at night when the utility company charges a lower rate, the business could save money without drastically altering their operations.
In addition, companies can look at real-time data to identify and predict high-cost periods. Looking at a prior month’s utility bill as the primary method of analysis would be like purchasing a stock based on historical data with no thought of how the stock will perform in the future. Since companies’ energy costs fluctuate, they can use EAS to see that prices are peaking or that an expensive period is coming, so they can pare back their energy usage and reduce their expense.
Using this type of insight isn’t just theoretical; it pays off. A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study of 28 sites that implemented EAS found that they saved an average of 17% in the first year of doing so and 47% nine years later.
So for companies looking to gain an edge, real-time data analysis can deliver the insight they need to improve their operations. In fact, 59% of high-performing organizations use real-time, unstructured data to understand and improve their operations, finds McKinsey. In comparison, just 12% of low-performing organizations do the same.
Which camp do you want your company to fall into?
Request a complimentary energy efficiency assessment to find out how Artis Energy’s RTIS® energy analytics platform can provide you with the visibility and insight to transform energy from a fixed cost into a distinct competitive advantage.