{"id":32840,"date":"2022-12-15T11:14:19","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T11:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/?p=32840"},"modified":"2025-08-20T17:03:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T17:03:56","slug":"bridging-the-gap-between-data-and-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harnham.com\/bridging-the-gap-between-data-and-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging the Gap Between Data and Money"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Data is a top priority on almost every C-suite agenda, and for good reason.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

When data is properly sourced, compiled, and understood, it has the potential to add tremendous value to a company’s profitability and competitive positioning.<\/p>\r\n

However, without proper business acumen, data organizations often fail to control their costs and are far less likely to realize a return on their data investments.<\/p>\r\n

How can organizations effectively generate financial returns from their data? And what are some common mistakes that companies make when trying to do so?<\/p>\r\n

I recently co-hosted a Harnham LIVE<\/a> LinkedIn event with Harnham’s Peter Schroeter<\/strong> to answer these questions and more. Here’s a summary of our chat below.<\/p>\r\n

Setting Clear Data Objectives is Key <\/strong><\/p>\r\n

When building data teams, many companies underestimate the effort that’s involved in garnering valuable insights from data.<\/p>\r\n

There seems to be a common misconception that, if a company invests in the right tools and hires a bunch of smart people who understand the “modern data stack,” then that company will realize a positive ROI on its investments in data.<\/p>\r\n

What executives often forget is that, if a business doesn’t have clear objectives on how its data can help make money, investing in data can end up having a negative<\/em> impact on profit.<\/p>\r\n

Therefore, the path to positive ROI in data starts with identifying how data supports the business strategy and how it can accelerate monetization.<\/p>\r\n

To make sure their data teams are set up for success, companies must plan for enough positive cash flow impact to justify their investment in data.<\/p>\r\n

Requisite Skills Go Beyond Tech <\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Once clear objectives have been set, companies need to ensure their data teams and data products stay on track.<\/p>\r\n

This requires a few things. One of the most important ways to ensure revenue and data goals are aligned is to build a well-rounded team. That means building a team that has a mix of technical knowledge and business acumen.<\/p>\r\n

Of course, it can be challenging to find data professionals that are also business experts. Luckily, it’s more important to have a team<\/em> that’s diverse rather than individual employees who “have it all.”<\/p>\r\n

When building data teams, a common mistake companies make is hiring a technical person who says they know the business, rather than hiring a person with a solid business background.<\/p>\r\n

Data is not a purely technical domain. Thus, in-depth knowledge in areas beyond code and tools is important. Skills in business, strategy, project management, and communication, as well as process expertise, are critical to managing a data organization successfully. Security, compliance, and privacy are also becoming non-negotiables.<\/p>\r\n

Keep It Lean<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

An efficient data ecosystem is also important if companies want their data to generate a positive ROI.<\/p>\r\n

Lean processes with a focus on governance, data quality, and observability will create a more robust data ecosystem that has a lower chance of producing incomplete, incorrect, or unfocused data, especially if a company is just starting out in the data space.<\/p>\r\n

Focus on Break-Even Points and Payback Periods<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Initial investments in cloud technology and other critical steps are expensive. Think in terms of break-even points and time horizons when projecting the investment payback period.<\/p>\r\n

Being realistic about a payback period and decisive about an effective monetization strategy is critical for realizing a return on long-term investment in data.<\/p>\r\n

Over time, data has the power to make value change in an organization-if it’s harnessed in the right way.<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

For more information about the connection between data and money,<\/em> you can watch a recording of our <\/em>entire live discussion<\/em><\/a> on Harnham’s LinkedIn.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Data is a top priority on almost every C-suite agenda, and for good reason. When data is properly sourced, compiled, and understood, it has the potential to add tremendous value to a company’s profitability and competitive positioning. However, without proper business acumen, data organizations often fail to control their costs and are far less likely…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":32847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[357],"tags":[304,361,359,358,360],"class_list":["post-32840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roi","tag-data","tag-data-quality","tag-germany","tag-money","tag-roi"],"yoast_head":"\nBridging the Gap Between Data and Money - 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