Stuck In Rush Hour
A few days ago I was driving home from Atlanta during rush hour and my phone died. All I could see in front of me were brake lights and red lights. Not a huge deal, I knew where I wanted to go and I knew how to get there. But since I didn’t have GPS traffic statistics I had no idea how long I’d be stuck in traffic. I did, however, have the traffic reports on the radio every 15 minutes, but by the time I get those, it is usually too late to help me.
Another thing I couldn’t do was let folks know when I would arrive or even where I was. Again, not a huge deal and for most of us, that is how it was a few years back. But technology has changed and a lot of us like to take advantage of it so we don’t have to waste time when it can be avoided or mitigated (like sitting in traffic).
So where am I going?
Reporting in a lot of companies is similar to the non-GPS drive home days. How so?
Are the “reports” you’re getting like the radio’s traffic updates? A brief snapshot of the recent past, but a bit stale? Could you add more value to that data if you could compare it to the now and see how you are trending?
How about my predicament about my location? If I had an appointment that I was running late for or some dinner I needed to get to, I’d have no idea if I would make it nor would I be able to let people know that I’m running late.
Is your company data like an isolated driver in traffic?
Do you only know you’ve been having a sales decline when a report arrives to tell you about it? Or do you know as soon as numbers start trending below your goals? If the numbers are trending down, does your current reporting or BI system know who to contact to correct those values? Does the system include instructions on how to make those corrections in case your Top Closer is vacationing in Fiji and unreachable?
What I’m trying to get as is that the technology to do this is available now. If you’re handling your company’s most critical data like you would take a long drive without GPS on your phone, you’re going to run into some unexpected traffic jams. Leverage the technology that is available to you now so you can use your resources efficiently, effectively, and securely. Now is not the time to sit around waiting for your people to get the data you needed yesterday, it is time for data to come to you that you need now.
You have the data, we’ll help you to reach your desintation
We have partnered with great companies so that we can implement the right solution to fit your specific use case. If you know your Perficient rep, reach out to them to start this conversation. If not, reach out to me and I’ll help you connect. And you won’t need to worry about your data getting stuck behind that stalled car in the left lane on the interstate.
