Harnessing the Power of Data

The third paper in our “Future of Insights” series explores how organisations are evolving to harness the power of data and technology for better insights.

The author(s)
  • Hélène Lefebvre Chief Client Officer, Global Client Organisation
  • Chris Bonsi Senior Vice President, CCD, USA
  • Murat Demiral Managing Partner, Ipsos Strategy3
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Future of Insights | Harnessing the power of data | IpsosThe Covid-19 pandemic has elevated the value of high-quality data and analytics. This has been driven by the acceleration of digital transformation and the increasing importance of becoming more human-centric in order to understand the changing dynamics of consumer attitudes and behaviours.

To understand this shifting landscape, Ipsos conducted more than 70 client interviews during 2021 around the world and across multiple sectors. We synthesised the key learnings from these interviews to capture how organisations are evolving to harness the power of data and technology for better insights.

Building on the first two publications in the series, Transforming the Insight Function and the Value of Insights: Moving to Impact, this paper explores the various approaches in how companies structure their data and analytics teams, the challenges they face in doing so, and the different paths available to create value and drive human-centricity.

Acceleration of data and analytics transformation

From our interviews with clients, we identified the following two key dimensions that best reflect a company’s data maturity and transformation journey:

People and Organisation

This dimension focuses on aspects that determine the capabilities of the organisation as well as the behaviours they promote. Many companies are creating new roles, structures, and ways of organising themselves to best leverage their data and analytics resources. Some are moving towards an elevated vision for a data-driven company, while others are looking at recruiting new talents, upskilling legacy teams, and integrating newly-acquired skill sets in order to combine data literacy and business understanding.

Tools and Infrastructure

Companies that are at the forefront of data and analytics have placed a strong priority on developing and nurturing their data ecosystems. These include data sources and data aggregators, as well as specialist agencies across the entire continuum of data preparation, analytics, and marketing activation platforms. Almost all clients are building or nurturing partner and data ecosystems, accessing the best resource and expertise where needed, and complementing their own capabilities. They also expect their partners in their ecosystems to be able to collaborate and act as an extension of their own teams and capabilities.

Where are you on the transformation journey?

We have seen much evidence that companies can clearly enhance productivity and human-centricity through data and analytics. Embracing this whole area of data is a way for marketing/insight functions to create significant value for their business. Consumer and Marketing Insights (CMI) can play a unique role in this respect. They bring deep human understanding (more of the why behind the what), they introduce nuances, contextualise the findings, and they clearly articulate how to best activate those findings within their organisation.

Leading CMI organisations that have progressed the furthest in their data transformation journey embrace clear best practices – developing a clear data strategy supported by the right capabilities/partners and a strong culture of data.

Shaped by Ipsos’ Global Client Organisation, the “Future of Insights” series is based on the very rich discussions we have been having with our clients about how research is changing and how to elevate its impact. We very much welcome your thoughts and look forward to further engaging with many of you on each of these topics.

The author(s)
  • Hélène Lefebvre Chief Client Officer, Global Client Organisation
  • Chris Bonsi Senior Vice President, CCD, USA
  • Murat Demiral Managing Partner, Ipsos Strategy3

Consumer & Shopper