Sumana is an experienced IT professional, having spent over 23 years in the industry. This includes global experience across the domain, which includes Delivery management, Risk management, operations management to strategic planning and consulting. She has successfully executed several business plans and has a strong business acumen for handling channel management activities. Before starting Goavega, she worked in several large MNC’s and product companies. Some of her past stints include Symphony Services Corp India Pvt Ltd, where she served as a director for 6 years. Additionally, she was at AIG (American International Assurance), Singapore as Assistant Manager from Jun’01 – Apr’04.
With the accelerated adoption of emerging technology and innovations in AI, ML and IoT, Data has become an increasingly significant buzzword. For businesses, data insights are emerging as a crucial decision-maker, with the potential to offer in-depth consumer research insights, influencing new product design, marketing strategies and even consumer experience. It is no wonder then, that data is the new currency, offering businesses the competitive advantage needed to survive and thrive, in a global market. The Indian Big Data Analytics market currently constitutes 32% of the global market and stands at USD 2 Billion. With the massive growth in technology-led innovations and supportive government policies, this is expected to grow to USD 16 Billion by 2025, registering a 26% CAGR Growth. However, in spite of the huge potential, the Indian SME/MSME segment continues to shy away from adopting data analytics as a business tool for driving growth.
Under the current situation, where businesses are struggling with the global economic slowdown, adopting Big Data Analytics could become a crucial differentiator for survival and success. Moreover, with the help of several SaaS service providers, who can offer customized and value-driven tech solutions for businesses, have been stepping up to provide SME/MSMSE’s with tools to collect, manage and analyze data to gain relevant insights. Here are the key areas where Big Data Analytics, when applied, can offer superior insights and influence one to make effective business decisions to drive growth.
Gain consumer insights: Consumers today are a complex lot that seeks several contrasting things and Big Data is the only way to decipher and learn the language of this modern, diverse set of audience. Effective data capture and analysis of consumer patterns can help gain valuable insights into consumer psychology, buying patterns, spending power based on demographics, excitement towards new brand/ product releases, lifestyle habits and even brand loyalty and consumption patterns! With insights of this nature, brands can gain an edge and be effectively guided to remain relevant and exciting for the consumer.
Design impactful marketing campaigns: Brands can leverage valuable consumer behaviour, market, competition, and industry insights to drive effective and impactful marketing campaigns that can ‘speak’ directly to the consumer, and help them connect and engage with the brand in a better, enhanced manner. Further, leveraging data-driven insights can help brands create multiple, targeted marketing campaigns for varied groups of its consumer base, in a relatively cost-effective manner, while generating maximum impact!
Improved product design/ service offerings: Data analytics can play a pivotal role in product innovations and designing superior service offerings, based on market trends, consumer demand, and socio-political environment. Predictive data analysis also helps curate ‘ahead of trend’ brand offerings that can delight existing customers and help draw out newer, curious lot willing to explore the brand experience.
Enhance user experience: By studying consumption patterns, preferences and consumer satisfaction/ delight levels, data analytics can help enhance the user experience and offer a seamless and effective brand experience. It also plays a vital role in enhancing customer service and engagement – an important part of user experience, by offering faster turn-around time, predicting crisis early on, effective resolution of grievances, etc., that can go a long way in delighting a consumer.
Aid in business growth and expansion plans: Apart from product and service design, customer service and crucial update on market and industry trends etc., data analysis also helps gain insights that can help achieve vital business goals. From information about new markets, exploring newer or international consumer base or designing a product testing or pilot project for a new venture / new market, data analytics could ensure the efforts impactfully and are backed by solid information. In many cases, data insights can also be leveraged for predictive analysis of a crisis or change in a major trend, which can, in turn, help make realistic business projections and embark on a realistic expansion plan.
Reduce cost to improve the bottom line: Ultimately, leveraging data analytics can help save chunks of money and resources which would otherwise have been spent on inaccurate or blindly designed marketing campaigns, inefficient service deliveries, less effective customer service and eventually, unsatisfied consumers, resulting in huge losses. So, contrary to regular belief, although an initial investment, data analytics can aid to improve the efficacy of business decisions, and aid as an in-house business consultant that can drive consistent and many fold growth for organizations, thereby improving the bottom line.
While the above are key areas where Businesses can leverage data analytics to gain an edge, it does not need to be a complicated process. Majority SaaS and IT service providers now offer simplified and manageable processes, where data can be collected, monitored, managed and analyzed and all insights can be delivered on a dashboard for key members of the team. The process not only saves time and generates tangible insights, but also ensure that business heads can further work towards utilizing this information to full advantage, without having to go through tedious physical meetings and brainstorming sessions. Data analytics is a minefield of information that has the potential to drive not only individual businesses or economies but to transform the global markets.
More About Sumana Iyengar and Goavega
Sumana is also the Co-founder of Krimzen, which she manages at a part-time basis. Sumana has received the prestigious ‘Women Entrepreneur of the year 2018-19’. Award from WeLeed and Women Empowerment Summit and GIWL Awards 2019 from UBS Forums. At Goavega, she provides leadership to drive growth and customer delight. Sumana has assisted several start-ups in building products from ground zero and launching products to the market.
Established in 2014 “Goavega” is a Bangalore based product engineering services organisation delivering customer needs with high quality and cost-effectiveness. At Goavega, they have straightforward and single-minded focus: to help the customers with innovative and unmatched tools, services, and solutions and make them future-ready / prepare them for the future.