The growth of business data presents significant opportunities to make more informed decisions, yet many organizations are still not taking advantage of this opportunity.
Even though executives want to improve the speed and sophistication of their decision-making, only 39% say their companies’ decision-making is highly data-driven, according to a global PwC survey. Worse, only 27% say their companies are highly data-driven when it comes to making decisions about changes to business operations.
Part of the problem is that many businesses have difficulty finding analytics talent to get the most out of their data. Even if they acquire technology to help, they might not have the in-house capabilities to use it effectively.
Yet this gap presents opportunities for external parties to help organizations, as they can provide both the technology and expertise to use data analytics as the basis for operational change.
Opening the Door for Energy Services Companies
Energy management is one area ripe for outsiders such as energy services companies to help with analytics, as many companies do not have a full grasp of their energy activities. However, energy management should no longer be looked at just in terms of costs, but also as a way to jumpstart efforts to become a more data-driven organization.
With energy analytics software (EAS), organizations do not have to perform complicated data analysis manually, as the software analyzes energy data autonomously to identify invaluable cost-reducing insights about their operations. And energy services companies can serve as a partner, helping clients get comfortable using the software so that they can start to make process changes to improve profitability, reduce risk and prepare for regulatory changes.
Already, businesses turn to energy services companies to help with energy management in a variety of ways to the point where Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory projects the industry will reach $7.6 billion in revenue this year. Yet the lab’s recent revenue projections for the industry fell short, due to factors such as organizations’ uncertainty over locking into an energy savings performance contract.
So, going beyond their traditional services and taking on a more consultative role to help companies adjust business processes using data and analytics is an opportune revenue stream. Consulting services only accounted for 5% of energy services companies’ revenue in 2014, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, so providing this service could help them reach or exceed their revenue targets.
Moving Beyond Energy
Once energy services companies start consulting organizations on using EAS to improve their energy management, businesses can also then use that data to improve in all sorts of other areas.
For example, EAS might reveal seemingly inconsistent usage of the office kitchen. With that information, companies can then start to dig into the data and start solving problems beyond energy management. There could be patterns indicating that employees do not have time to have lunch in the kitchen during busy periods for the company, and thus they eat at their desk. While this may seem like a small issue, it could be a strain on employee morale and perhaps be just the tip of the employee engagement iceberg. Employers might then take steps such as providing catered lunch during busy days, so employees feel rewarded for their hard work.
Even though these types of insights go beyond what an energy services company would likely provide, they can explain to clients how the initial findings from EAS can then lead into other improvements, and therefore it is prudent for companies to look more closely into their energy management.
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.