Let us start by saying Happy New Year! At this time, many of us seem to think “New Year, New me”, and as if to prove our favourite saying true, LinkedIn is again filled with “New Year, new job” posts. These will be the tip of the iceberg, “New Year, New me” in business will mean lots of projects being given a nudge or “that idea Jeff had to change our Analytics to a more self-service footing, but we’ve never had the time…” What we mean is that the good intentions are definitely on display. The question many of us have is the same that many of our businesses will have. While the specifics may be different, figuratively, we’re all thinking, “If I go to the gym more, I’ll be….” so the first thing to do is of course, to sign that contract and get your membership right, even if you’re locked into it for 12 months, that’s fine, because you know you’ll keep to it right?
Corporately, this is often where we start. When we front-load projects with significant early investment, we risk never getting that sweet ROI! The world is changing, and love it or hate it, subscription-based licencing is here to stay, but for a business of any size, that can be a real benefit; low-level cloud-based subscriptions are a great cost-effective alternative to high capital cost physical solutions and perpetual licences.
The Microsoft Analytics stack starts with something that most businesses will already be licenced for – Excel, so your cost of entry to Enterprise Analytics with Excel is going to be zero; if you don’t have Excel, you can get your Proof of Concept done using Power BI Desktop, that is free. You only need to pay for it when you want to use the service (so after you prove the concept).
The point of all this is that the gym industry needs a shake-up; why can’t gyms give me a month free to see if I want to go to the gym? In the world of data projects, it is possible to start moving forward with some simple, low-cost, high-value options that enable a business to build proper strategic plans. The conversations you should have with your consulting partners should always come back to the delivery against the plan.
We hope you’ll share your experiences and help us carry on the debate. Should more gyms move to a subscription model, or have we already pushed that metaphor too far? For now, though, remember this, “Practice Excellence, and it becomes habitual”.
#geordielife #dataexcellence #dataconsulting #newyearsresolutions
