Real-Time Data: You may have noticed that everything seems to happen at a much faster speed than it did 15 or 20 years ago. And that makes complete sense.
With the advent of the Internet and the constant advances in technological development, the volume of information in circulation has increased dramatically. And with more information circulating, what happens is that it also becomes outdated more quickly. You most likely already witness this on a personal level when you update yourself on the news about your friends and family on social networks.
Something similar also occurs when you visit news portals to know what is happening worldwide, for example. A news item highlighted in the morning will certainly not be evident after lunchtime or late afternoon. It turns out that the speed of information is also a factor that directly impacts the business world.
How can you rely on data to make decisions that will impact the future of your business if the information you have on hand becomes outdated at an ever-increasing speed? And that’s where real-time data collection comes into the picture.
Ok, But What Is Real-Time Data Collection All About?
Briefly, we can define real-time data collection as capturing data in specific sources (such as e-commerce, marketplaces, public portals, databases, etc.) and immediately making this data available in a spreadsheet, platform, or similar system where this information is queried.
In other words, data collection presents the data as soon as it is collected. For many organizations, having this information at hand means having the most accurate data possible to plan their immediate and future next steps. Now it’s Time to learn about some of the benefits real-time data collection brings to your business.
Gain New Insights Instantly
One of the most apparent advantages of the real-time collection is that there is no waiting, as data is collected, processed, and then visualized virtually instantaneously. This paradigm enables novel insights to emerge and more accurate and relevant analysis.
Make Better (And Faster) Decisions Based On Timely Data
It is true that one should avoid making impulse decisions, just as it is not recommended to decide on something, especially if it is essential and of significant impact, without the necessary background to make a truly well-informed decision.
But it turns out that when it comes to business, the reality is that you often need to make decisions quickly. And when that happens, having real-time, zero-lag data on hand is the advantage that will make all the difference.
Applications Of Automated Data Collection
Below are 3 practical applications that benefit from automated data collection.
1 – More Productivity And More Efficiency
Organizations gain deeper insights into logistics, distribution, and manufacturing operations with quality data, for example. Automating complex processes allows you to monitor crucial elements such as inventory and supply chain operations in real-time. That way, it is also possible to identify problems and solve them before they become major headaches.
Your team’s productivity and efficiency are boosted thanks to automation, as repetitive tasks are left to robots. Your employees can focus on task execution and short, medium, and long-term strategy development.
2 – Data Protection And Compliance
Just as important as collecting and analyzing data, it has solutions in place that ensure the security of the data held by your company. Big data solutions enable a company to be able, for example, to determine which data is most sensitive to the company’s security and put in place the right archiving processes to ensure compliance.
News of data leaks at large companies is unfortunately quite common these days. With this in mind, investment in data protection is not a luxury but a necessity.
3 – A Greater Collaboration Between Companies
By automating data collection, your company will be better prepared to collaborate more efficiently with other companies. Automation allows your organization to always have up-to-date data and insights to share with partner companies, for example, enhancing the knowledge exchange between the parties.
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