The importance of information in the decision-making process

Difficult decisions are part of the daily life of managers. It is necessary to keep abreast of what is happening in the company to make the right decisions for the business. However, due to the increasing amount of data in companies, it is not always easy to decide consciously and objectively. In this article, we discuss the importance of information in the decision-making process.

Information is important to identify problems

In most situations, decision making aims to solve a problem. Thus, it is necessary to identify its origin and list all possible solutions. This step seems basic but is one of the most important because it will give us the data needed to know which path to choose. And there is not always up-to-date and organized information to make these decisions. The right information is essential so that managers can decide the best way.

Real-time information is a growing need

The day-to-day of a manager is quite busy and it is humanly impossible to keep up with all the situations that happen in the business. We live in an age when we are “bombarded” by data from all directions! It is very important to have a real-time business monitoring system as it allows you to set business alerts so that you are advised whenever any important situation requires immediate intervention. Multipeers is a BAM system that allows you to define business alerts that warn you whenever a situation requires your attention. In this way, you will always be aware of the events of your business and will be able to decide in good time. Many of the decisions are made based on reports a few days late, which makes the company have a reactive and non-proactive action. With Multipeers you can always be ahead of the competition, since you can have a single dashboard all the information generated by your company!

Have information from various data sources for an overview

Before making a decision, the manager must identify and analyze in detail all available alternatives. The same problem can have several solutions and the manager should rely on the help of his team to choose the best way forward. In this way, not only does the company win, everyone’s opinion will certainly be better than that of a single person, as employees will feel more motivated because they feel that they are an integral part of the process.

Information everywhere

Mobility is a growing trend and in many sectors is already a daily reality. Employees and managers must have access to the most important information about the business because only then will they be able to make effective and timely decisions. Cloud computing has facilitated labor mobility by enabling important business documents to be consulted anywhere and for effective decision making.

 

The main obstacles to effective decision making (and possible solutions!)

Making decisions for the future of the business is a complicated task for managers and requires a lot of commitment from them. A lot of times, business leaders and departments d’ont have all the information they need to analyze situations in an objective way, which greatly complicates effective and rapid decision-making. On a day-to-day basis in which companies are constantly living, the lack of time to evaluate the company’s operations is one of the biggest enemies of correct decision-making. Today, companies generate data every day and the vast amount of information that exists is also a concern for companies as it is not easy to manage all sources of information and it is even more difficult to get the most important insights from each from them. There are many obstacles that prevent decisions to be made quickly and consciously and it is about these obstacles that we are going to discuss in this article. And we will also present possible solutions for each of them!

Obstacle 1: there is no information in real time

Business life happens now. In each moment information is generated and this information will have an impact on company’s life, so it is fundamental that a manager is always aware of what is happening. The reality, however, is that in most companies the information is spread by various software and it is not possible to have immediate access to all the data. This will have a negative impact on decision making. Decisions based on a few days’ reporting are always reactive and the company runs the risk of being outdone by a competition that is quicker to act.

Solution: BAM

BAM tools such as Multipeers are essential in today’s business world because they allow you to condense all information from a wide range of data sources into one platform. The ability to access information in real time changes everything because it is the guarantee that we are always working based on the most current information that exists. Decision-making is made easier because there is no need to resort to lengthy and old reports to decide what to do next. With information so accessible, the likelihood of making bad decisions is much lower, which certainly increases the efficiency of companies. In addition, Multipeers also allows the creation of business alerts that advise managers about anomalous situations that require their attention. This fact makes it possible for managers to carry out their day-to-day tasks in a quiet way as they know they will be alerted when something strange happens. This allows a corrective action to be taken immediately, ensuring prompt resolution of problems.

Obstacle 2: lack of mobility

Business mobility is a growing trend and in many industries is already a reality. However, there are still many companies that are not able to adapt to this new way of working and this makes employees have to be in the office to access the e-mail and to meet with their teams. Companies are still not very receptive to this new trend because they are afraid that mobility is synonymous with a greater probability of loss of credentials of access to the network, which in general results in the leakage of information abroad. Fortunately, more and more technology is moving towards making systems and networks more secure and practically inviolable.

Solution: use of the right tools

Employees and managers must always have access to the most important information about the business, since only then will they be able to make effective and timely decisions. Cloud computing has facilitated labor mobility by enabling important business documents to be consulted anywhere and for effective decision-making. Switching the corporate email system to a cloud-based solution is also very important for increasing business mobility. Videoconferencing tools were the first tools to enable enterprise mobility and are now moving to a large scale for mobile platforms, which significantly increases the scope of mobility. We are now able to use Skype and Hangouts on mobile devices, allowing you to have meetings anytime, anywhere in the World.

Obstacle 3: lack of planning

Companies often don’t spend the due time in planning their activity and this will obviously have negative consequences over time. Business planning is essential if the company’s action is to succeed. Setting realistic goals and ways to reach them is a very important part of business, because we can only succeed if we know well where we want to go.

Solution: plan and involve the entire team

At least every six months, it is crucial that managers meet with their teams and analyze what has been done so far and, based on the result of that analysis, the company’s course should be traced to the following months. However, it is very important that there is always a plan B. As good as planning is and the goals set are the most appropriate for the company, you have to take into account that things can go wrong, because the business world is very susceptible to changes and unforeseen events. Therefore, it is necessary to always have an alternative plan. Having a B plan makes emergency situations easier to deal with. Many managers don’t think of alternatives when they make a decision and end up harming the business if the decision they make doesn’t have the desired effects.

Analyzing data in real time is increasingly a reality in companies around the world. Business happens at a very fast pace and it is essential that you know what is happening in your company to make the most appropriate decisions for your business.

Get to know the advantages of the BAM system and learn how these tools can help your business!

Glossary of information management: 20 terms you need to know

Managing information effectively is essential to ensure that the company can get the insights it needs to make the best decisions for the business. In an age where huge volumes of data are being generated every day, companies seek to find the best ways to deal with information on a daily basis. In today’s article, we leave you 20 terms on information management you need to know!

Descriptive analysis

This type of Data Analytics answers the question “what is happening now?”. Through the response, companies can analyze data on customer losses, sales for a particular product, and the outcome of launched campaigns. Descriptive analysis allows immediate decisions to be made with a high level of security, since the analysis is based on concrete and current data. The information coming from this type of analysis is usually displayed in graphs and tables, which allows the manager to have an overview of the processes monitored.

Predictive Analysis

Predictive analytics is an advanced form of Data Analytics that aims to answer the question “what will happen?”. It is a type of analysis that makes predictions through probabilities. This analysis is possible thanks to techniques like regression and progression analysis, pattern matching and various types of statistics. This type of Data Analytics is widely used in stock market and investment companies.

Diagnostic analysis

Diagnostic analysis will explain why something happened. This type of analysis will relate all available data and information to find patterns of behavior that may explain the results. It is an important analysis to find problems and above all to avoid repeating them in the future.

Prescriptive analysis

The prescriptive analysis is the analysis of premonition. It answers the question “what could happen if we take this action?”. This type of analysis is very important especially in the sales area. For example, “if we think about giving a 15% discount next month on the company’s lesser-selling product, the likelihood of increased sales is 40%”. The prescriptive analysis raises hypotheses about possible results of actions taken by the company. It is an essential analysis for managers, as it helps them to evaluate the best way to choose a certain strategy to solve a problem.

Backup

The backup allows you to back up data and files. If there is a computer problem and important files are lost, the only alternative is to redo the work that has been done previously. This leads to a large productivity drop. Having an up-to-date backup of the data will allow the company’s revenue to not be affected because even in the event of a computer disaster the employees will have access to the documents they need to work.

BAM

BAM stands for Business Activity Monitoring and is a tool that defines the process and technologies to be able to put information about the company’s KPIs in real time on a dashboard. What BAM does is only show in one place all the information coming from the most varied sources of data of the company, eliminating the need to consult several databases and related to know what is happening in the company at that time.

Data base

Set of related files, tables, relationships, which stores data and makes associations between them. Databases are currently the most important assets of a company.

BI

BI (business intelligence) is a technique that helps managers plan the company’s strategy by collecting and analyzing a large volume of data to understand the company’s performance and then to decide more consciously about the future.

Big data

Big Data is the term that describes the immeasurable volume of data (structured or otherwise) that has a daily business impact. More important than the amount of data, that’s what businesses can.

Data scientist

This will be one of the most sought-after professions in the future. A data scientist is an analytical professional who has the technical capabilities to solve complex problems and has come up to deal with the huge amount of unstructured data that companies have to deal with on a daily basis. This professional creates algorithms to extract insights from the data generated by the diverse sources of information and presents them in a practical and simple format to analyze by the decision makers, who will then be able to define strategies and decide the best way for the company.

Cloud

Cloud Computing is a model that allows full network access to a set of shared computing resources (networks, datacenters, storage, services, applications, among others) that can be quickly made available with minimal effort and without interaction with the supplier.

CRM

CRM is the acronym for Customer Relationship Management, that is, Customer Relationship Management and is used by thousands of companies to manage their relationship with current and potential customers. This software aims to protect the business information of a company. At the same time, a CRM helps identify the best actions and the best time to contact the customer, in order to boost the sale. Likewise, it allows you to evaluate objectives and evaluate the sales team.

Personal data

According to the GDPR, personal data means any information relating to an individual person identified or identifiable through them (identifiable ‘by reference to an identification number or to one or more specific elements of his / her physical, physiological, psychic, economic, cultural or social ‘).

Dashboard

A dashboard visually displays the most important information about the business. In case of using a tool like Multipeers, the information is updated permanently and automatically, so that you have at your disposal the most current information on everything that happens in the company.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the ability machines have to think like humans. It defines your ability to learn, reason and decide autonomously and intelligently. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a recent concept. It first emerged in 1956 by John McCarthy, a university professor who used the term to describe a distant world in which machines would be able to solve all problems that until then were solved exclusively by humans.

KPI

KPI stands for key performance indicator, that is, key performance indicator. In the business world, KPIs are quantifiable measures that serve to understand whether the company’s objectives are being met or whether the strategy needs to be modified to achieve them.

Data masking

Data masking aims at creating a structurally identical but not equal version of data. This technique creates a database with fictitious but realistic information that can be used for testing and training purposes. Data masking solutions offer a variety of sophisticated scrambling techniques to protect sensitive data, irreversibly replacing them with data that is not real, while maintaining the referential integrity of the database.

PDCA

PDCA is the go to plan, do, check and act. It is a management technique linked to the improvement of a company’s processes. Its purpose is to solve problems, pointing out the causes for potential deviations and productive failures. This process makes the organization of the company more efficient in the long run and it is essential that it be applied from the moment of creation of a business, so that the improvement can be continuous.

Security policy

The security policy is a document developed by the company that records the principles of security that the company adopts and that must be followed by the employees. The security policy should be applied to all information systems, both desktop and mobile. For policy to be respected, it is essential that top managers participate in the implementation.

VPN

A VPN network is a virtual private network that transmits encrypted data as it navigates from one point to another in the Web world. Connecting through VPN enables the user to browse websites securely and privately. VPN connections are increasingly used as they allow remote access to local files and is a safe way to browse through public Wi-Fi networks.

Do you know what Fog Computing is?

Storage methods evolve daily, with the goal of becoming more dynamic and efficient. After Cloud Computing comes the term Fog Computing, a differential factor to apply with the concept of Internet of Things. With this new technology, much has been researched on the methods of correctly performing the process and treatment of all the generated data. Fog Computing plays a very important role in this process and in today’s article we will explain everything about this new method of storage!

What is Fog Computing?

Imagine a smart city where there is a smart traffic camera that detects the pattern of lights from an ambulance and immediately sends that information to the traffic lights so they can be opened so the ambulance can pass. If this information has to be processed and sent to the Cloud and then sent to the semaphore, there is a waste of time that can be crucial. Fog Computing is about saving traffic and sending time to the cloud, making it possible to directly process the equipment, without the need to send information to the Cloud.

Fog Computing works in the same way as Cloud, but is closer to users and equipment, speeding up processes and reducing network traffic, especially in environments that don’t have high bandwidth. Fog Computing mainly facilitates the processing of the Internet data of Things. Fog Computing aims to increase the capacity of the computer and storage in the cloud across the network. Fog Computing is an intermediate layer between Cloud and hardware, which enables more efficient processing, analysis and storage of data.

Fog Computing and Internet of Things

According to the Business Insider, by 2021 almost 6 trillion dollars will be invested in the global marketplace in Internet of Things. This means that if these numbers happen, the current Cloud Computing systems will not be able to handle the full volume of data, and it is necessary to use add-ins. And that’s where Fog Computing comes in. In this new reality, it is necessary to establish processes that precede Cloud Computing, that manage and analyze the environment so that they store what is really necessary and important, so that there are quicker answers to certain questions.

 

Fog Computing offers a combination of increased computing power, increased storage capacity and services on the network and intends to address and resolve any limitations of Cloud Computing. Basically, the great goal of this term that is now emerging is to deal with the data that is created on a daily basis.

Eliminate barriers that make you decision making more effective

Business world is happening at an amazing pace and managers need to make quick, timely and effective decisions. It is only through assertive decision-making that companies are able to keep abreast of competition and respond to the increasing demands of consumers. However, in most companies, there are barriers to making rapid and efficient decision-making. In this article we will give you some tips to eliminate these barriers and make conscious and effective decisions!

Flexibility

Many managers make decisions based on small pieces of available information and don’t take into account the views of employees who deal with situations on a daily basis. It is vital that there is an analysis of the pros and cons and a survey of the opinion of those who are involved in the process. The best decisions are those that take into account different points of view. Managers must be flexible and analyze all possibilities.

Lack of a plan B

As good as planning is, you have to keep in mind that things can go wrong. The world of business is very susceptible to change and unexpected situations and it is necessary to always have an alternative plan. Having a B plan makes emergency situations easier to deal with. Many managers don’t think of alternatives when they make a decision and end up harming the business if the decision they make does not have the desired effects.

Lack of alerts and real-time information

The day-to-day of a manager is quite busy and it is humanly impossible to keep up with all the situations that happen in the business. It is very important to have a real-time business monitoring system that allows you to set business alerts so that you are advised whenever any important situation requires an immediate intervention. Multipeers is a BAM system that allows you to define business alerts that warn you whenever a situation requires your attention. In this way, you will always be aware of the events of your business and you will be able to decide in good time. Many of the decisions are made based on reports that are a few days late, which makes the company a reactive and non-proactive organism. With Multipeers you can always be ahead of the competition.

Lack of mobility

Mobility is a growing trend and in many sectors is already a daily reality. Employees and managers should have access to the most important information about the business because only then they will be able to make effective and timely decisions. Cloud computing has facilitated labor mobility by allowing important business documents to be consulted wherever you are.

 

Learn about the advantages of the BAM system and find how these tools can help your business!

5 new technologies that help businesses grow

The new technologies have changed the way we live and have also contributed to the evolution of companies, whether small or large. Just think of the Internet to realize the importance that technology has had for business. Certainly you cannot quote a business currently that doesn’t use the Internet. New technologies, when applied correctly, can help companies grow and evolve. In this article, we’ll introduce you to 5 new technologies that will help your business grow!

Big Data

Big Data defines the countless data – structured and unstructured – that have an impact on day-to-day business. What matters is not the volume of data generated, but what companies do with that data. Big Data must be analyzed for insights that help companies make the best decisions for the business. Nowadays, knowing is power and having as much information as possible about the state of the business and the customers is the key to winning the competition.

Cloud Computing

Storing information in the cloud is already a trend all over the world. Increasingly, storage services offer better business conditions and ensure the security of your data. Nowadays it is possible to integrate public and private environments, thus giving rise to the Cloud Hybrid. Companies increasingly aim to protect their data and cloud storage has been chosen by many IT managers as they ensure greater protection of their information.

Real-time information

Thanks to business monitoring systems it is possible to analyze all the company’s events in real time. Increasingly it is essential to keep up with the business world every minute in order to be one step ahead of the competition. Softwares such as Multipeers are increasingly a necessity in the business world because besides allowing to monitor the business in real time, they also send alerts to the user whenever something relevant happens.

Internet of Things

In a very simplified way, Internet of Things aims to connect any device to the Internet. According to Gartner, by the year 2020 there will be more than 26 billion devices connected to the network. At home, this concept aims to make life easier for people, but its application will also have an impact on the business world. In industries, for example, Internet of Things proves to be very useful since it is possible to measure temperature and humidity levels. The sensors are integrated with network and system monitoring tools and, if stipulated values ​​are exceeded, alerts are generated to take corrective actions.

Drones

From pest monitoring in agriculture to surveying in the mining industry, the use of drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) is expected to grow strongly in the coming years. Due to the high costs, these devices are currently only used by large companies, but the trend in the coming times is to lower costs and thus may also be adopted by small businesses.

7 Advantages of Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is already seen as a competitive strategy that responds to the needs of small, medium and large enterprises. Companies like Google and Microsoft provide servers where files are stored the same way if they are stored on a computer or mobile device. Files are stored for miles, but over the Internet, through a login and password, you can connect to your account and access all your files. In this article we’ll introduce you to the top 7 advantages of Cloud Storage!

Flexibility

Several companies provide flexible solutions tailored to the specific needs of each company. Thus, there is no need for a company to buy more space in the Cloud than it actually needs, which becomes a cost advantage. If you need to increase the storage size in the Cloud, you can easily upgrade it.

Safety

A system crash seriously threatens a company’s productivity. In case of failure, important reports can be lost and even with a policy of frequent backups, you may never be able to retrieve essential information for the company. By using a cloud storage system, data is completely safe even in case of system crashes. Your data will always be available and updated.

Mobility

Wherever you are, you can always check your files through a computer or mobile device. You no longer need to carry external USB drives and pens to ensure you have the files you need when traveling. The cloud provides universal access to full-power computing, allowing access to file servers for any user with a device with network access.

Collaboration

Storing files in the Cloud allows easier sharing with all colleagues, and you don’t need to send large files by email or pass them through USB pens. Because the files are stored in the Cloud, each user can access the files and make the changes they want, and these changes are automatically saved.

Sustainability

Your business becomes more sustainable and environmentally friendly with the use of cloud storage as it will reduce power consumption and the number of paper documents. Thus, you end up having less spending on electricity, increasing the advantages for your company.

Maximizing resources

Cloud storage frees the IT team for other tasks and leaves it free from problems related to network failures. Storing the files in the cloud means that you don’t have maintenance, upgrade and training costs.

Constant Backup

The cloud backs up automatically and progressively, without having to worry about it. You will not risk losing that document you’ve been working all day long! And you no longer have to worry about clicking the “Save” button every five minutes.

 

Get to know the IT PEERS Cloud services!

Find the most frequent Cloud Computing mistakes

Find the Mistakes to Avoid in Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing means that you don’t need a place to access files and programs: everything is done in the cloud through an access to remote servers. However, it’s necessary to take into account that there are vulnerabilities in this type of technology and that some errors can have great operational and financial implications for the companies. Get to know in this article the main mistakes made in Cloud Computing!

Lack of planning by managers

You must decide which files and programs will migrate to the cloud. Likewise, it’s necessary to always have a prepared Plan B: if the Cloud service fails, how can employees continue to work? Activating a disaster plan and frequently doing backups are two good options to minimize impacts if something goes bad.

Failure to define accesses

In order to ensure the privacy and security of your information, different levels of access must be defined for different users. It isn’t advisable that all employees have free access to all of the content in the Cloud. To ensure data security, each employee must have access only to the information he needs to perform his work.

Lack of security concern

Nothing is a hundred percent foolproof and one of the major disadvantages of cloud technology is that a company’s data and files run the risk of being unprotected. Security issues should be planned at an early stage at the time of transition from the location to the cloud. Really sensitive information shouldn’t be migrated abroad. However, cloud technology is proving to be more and more secure, and security-related risks will be increasingly reduced.

Having an unsuitable Internet service

Cloud technology calls for good Internet access. If there isn’t a good server and a good data connection, access to the cloud will be more time consuming and complicated. The tendency is to blame the Cloud Computing services but problem is internal.

Wrong choice of Cloud Computing service

There is the general and erroneous idea that any Cloud Computing service is perfect for a company. However, a Cloud Computing service is just like any other and should be chosen according to the specific needs of the company.

How to use Cloud for a more efficient management?

Learn how to get the most out of Cloud

Cloud Computing is a model that allows full access, through network, to a set of shared computing resources (networks, datacenters, storage, services, applications, among others) that can be quickly made available with a minimal effort and without interaction with the supplier. In this article, we’ll present you 5 tips to get the best out of Cloud.

Working socially

More and more companies have an advanced vision and take collaboration to another level by using Microsoft OneNote as a central and shared document where they can share all the information of the project. OneNote syncs every 5 seconds and automatically saves the new updates. Yammer connects employees remotely and increases their collaboration, and consequently the efficiency of the team.

The future is mobile

Mobile technology multiplies 5 times faster than the world population. Thanks to the Cloud, it will be possible to view and to edit all Office 2016 documents, from any mobile device. This makes business more and more efficient, as it’s no longer necessary to wait to be in the office to change important documents.

Synchronize the business

It’s difficult to find a business these days which has a fixed schedule from 9am to 5pm. Nowadays, companies are more flexible regarding schedules and due to the use of Cloud and mobile technology it’s possible to work from any location and at any time. Cloud storage synchronizes information between different devices, so everyone is able to work on the most up-to-date version of a particular document, regardless of which device they are using and where they are. The Cloud guarantees high level security and privacy.

Simplifying Meetings

Meetings are an important part of any business, providing a valuable opportunity for people to discuss, collaborate, and strategize. However, there are many meetings that aren’t productive. New communication and collaboration tools such as Skype for Business make easier to host meetings that are more efficient and productive and don’t require everyone to be in the same place.

Documents shared by all elements

Today’s markets move quickly and to keep up with their pace, a company’s employees need to work simultaneously on the same documents, such as sales reports, marketing plans, and more files. Collaboration with productivity features such as Office 2016 and Office Online makes possible for a team to edit documents at the same time. These features are supported by Cloud and are therefore automatically saved, and you it’s always possible to check the history of changes.

The present is already mobile and it is expected that this will be a trend in constant growth. Working in the Cloud not only ensures better collaboration between all the elements of a team, but at the same tile helps to reduce costs and to increase productivity.