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Businesses often look at databases as an expense and fail to fully realize the value they bring. Databases can do things for a business better, cheaper and faster than people. Often, they can do things that a single person just can’t do in a reasonable amount of time. So how can you begin to calculate the value of a database to an organization?
You can build the best system in the world, but if no one uses it, you’ve wasted time and money. Your organization won’t see the productivity gains. Your institutional knowledge will not be saved in a database. Managers will not have metrics at their fingertips. Your company will be more vulnerable to the effects of a departing employee. For all these reasons, full usage of a system translates directly to the bottom line. So what deters people from fully using a database?
Spreadsheets are the backbone of business and companies usually have at least one mission critical spreadsheet in their organization. They are the tool that allows businesses to adapt quickly to new priorities and a low cost option for reporting and analysis. While they are indispensable, they also have drawbacks.
When I meet people and talk about databases and systems, I always think they miss the point about what makes them useful. They often talk about a particular piece of software like Salesforce, Hubspot or Tableau. What they don’t see is that these are just tools and the content is more important.
For many years I’ve worked with business people to solve their problems with IT solutions. A big obstacle for them is how to tell the IT department what it is they want. Since I originally worked on business side and was in their shoes, I’ve been able to fill in the blanks for them. Allow me to share the approach I take to effectively communicating the business needs to IT.