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The value of data

1. The value of data

Welcome back. Let's continue our data journey and see how data plays an essential role in our daily lives.

2. Individuals and organizations use data

We all use data on our daily lives when managing our personal finances,

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or when planning

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what we're going to do

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in the weekend.

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Some people also use data to track their health. In the simplest form this is done by tracking your weight.

7. Individuals and organizations use data

Organizations

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in all types of industries,

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including governmental

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and non-profit organizations,

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naturally use data to deal with various challenges.

12. Data in organizations

Let's evaluate how organizations use data in general before looking at some examples of specific industries. It might sound obvious, but for a commercial business, the ultimate goal of using data is mostly to increase profitability. Non-profit organizations may benefit from using data for social good or improve research on breakthrough technologies. User surveys or interviews with customers will generate customer data. This can be used to improve a product, and ultimately customer satisfaction. Similarly you can collect data from employees to improve employee happiness. Data helps achieve these goals because it improves decision making. By having transparency on the return of investment of different products, a business can maximize its profitability, and use that information to optimize processes or spot new opportunities.

13. Data in healthcare

Approximately one billion people use wearable technologies like smartwatches, fitness bands, and other medical devices. These technologies are not only useful for the individual themselves, because some of them - if agreed by the individual - share data with external parties. Physicians can consecutively use the data to detect and predict possible disorders. This enables doctors to turn patient care into precision medicine. In addition to enabling doctors to prescribe proper treatment, patient data contributes to the advancement of pharmaceutical and healthcare research worldwide.

14. Data in supply chain

A supply chain is the sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of a product. The industry calculates various metrics to optimize its supply chain. One of those measures is average inventory, which measures the number of goods stored at the warehouse in a specified period. Inventory turnover ratio calculates how often a company has sold and replaced inventory during a given period. Supply chain analytics aims to make sense of the massive amount of data each part of the supply chain generates. A common analytics technique used in supply chain is demand forecasting to predict whether the right products will be in stock in time.

15. Data in education

Data can help education in several ways by providing insights that can be used to improve the learning experience. Take this course you are following right now, for example. By analyzing user feedback, incorrectly submitted answers, and when learners drop off a course, DataCamp can improve this and other course designs. By analyzing data on student performance, areas where students are struggling can be identified, and ultimately, content can be tailored to the needs and abilities of each learner.

16. Data is a competitive advantage

Remembering how organizations leverage their data truly sets them apart from their competitors is crucial. Since every organization’s data is unique to that organization, competitors will never be able to unlock the same insights because they don’t have the same data available. Organizations increasingly find themselves competing on how they should utilize their data to make good decisions instead of relying on gut feeling.

17. Let's practice!

Let's do some hands-on exercises to see if you understand the value of data!