How Data Apps Accelerate Digital Transformation

Applications (known as “apps”) play a significant role in our everyday lives, transcending the realms of business and leisure.  

Data Apps are similar to regular applications, but their purpose goes far beyond the apps you might come across on your smartphone.

In this previous article, we explained what a Data App is and their purpose within a wide range of industries. In summary, the difference between a Data App and conventional applications, is that a Data App will utilize Big Data signals to enhance the user experience. Sometimes, it will even perform actions automatically based on data insights.  

Data Applications are a vital tool for business development in the modern world of work. This article will outline five ways that Data Apps can accelerate an organization’s digital transformation. 

What exactly is digital transformation? 

Digital transformation describes how businesses can improve their operations, expand their customer reach and streamline their IT stack by incorporating new technologies (such as cloud computing and omnichannel communication tools). 

Digital transformation is crucial if companies want to increase their competitiveness in their chosen industry. Over 69% of brands cited data usage as a business priority in IT budgets in 2023 and beyond. 

Five ways Data Apps can accelerate digital transformation 

Below, we have broken down five examples of how Data Apps will expedite digital transformation and ensure your business remains competitive. 

1. Communication 

Making collaboration between teams more accessible is vital to the success of any digital transformation project. And Data Apps make communication faster and more efficient than ever (think: video conferencing software and other collaborative data tools).

Critically, data visualization software can help companies organize relevant data insights and present them in a way that all links in the human value chain can understand. 

For example, a graph showing last quarter’s sales figures can be supplemented with additional datasets, such as the number of customer returns. These layered insights help companies build a clearer picture of where they can optimize processes to get even better results.  

2. Remote and hybrid working 

Another way that Data Apps can accelerate digital transformation (and improve the functionality or robustness of your business) is by facilitating remote working practices. 

For instance, Data Apps can be developed to examine how company objectives are met or to monitor team motivation levels. 

For example, Data Apps like Huddle by PeopleHum monitor remote worker productivity through user data collection sources such as conversational transcripts, staff surveys, and other insight metrics. HR and operations teams can then utilize the findings to help companies improve their remote working efficiency over time. 

In addition, Data Applications enable companies to explore automation to help them streamline repetitive manual admin tasks like data entry and verifying customer information. According to a survey from workflow automation app, Zapier, 40% of remote workers in the US believe that Data Applications have made them more productive while remote working. 

Throughout 2020 and 2021, businesses that were able to adapt to the “new normal” of remote/hybrid working are the ones that are still standing today in our (relatively) post-COVID landscape. In fact, 16% of US companies have switched to a permanent remote working model since the beginning of 2020. 

3. Supply chain management 

Data Apps and IoT (Internet of Things) devices are becoming commonplace within the logistics industry. For example, attaching RFID chips to goods can be used to calculate exact inventory levels, sending alerts for teams to replenish stock before companies run low on materials.  

Plus, IoT devices can monitor warehouse conditions, such as optimal manufacturing temperatures or other quality control indicators. 

In order fulfilment, customer orders can also be checked at every delivery stage – up to the last mile. These measures ensure customer satisfaction and can help suppliers change fulfillment agencies, if required, to help them maintain optimal processes. 

4. Smarter marketing & more relevant promotions

Martech tools like Hubspot can utilize Big Data Apps to help companies measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts in real-time.

Furthermore, CRM systems pull in user data from previous customer correspondence, order histories, best-performing traffic sources (such as mobile data), and other valuable insights to help companies deliver better services.  

5. Superior data analysis 

A recent study from Forbes found that 95% of business leaders cite the need to utilize unstructured data in their organizations as a pressing issue. Unstructured data, such as information within email copy or customer feedback forms, holds a wealth of informative insights. But, if company leaders cannot disseminate this information, all of this valuable data becomes useless. 

Data Applications can improve how your business collects and analyzes all forms of data. For example, it can help you answer queries by mining for specific search terms (for instance, ‘slow service’) within customer correspondence and identify operations that need urgent attention and improvements. 

Plus, data analytics tools can be configured to incorporate third-party data sources, such as real-time customer account information, to help accounts teams improve their financial forecasting processes.  

Note from client to send case study information here: “If possible, this should hit the main industries that we serve – @laura.physick@vizlib.com will leave with you to find examples of dashboards (what we are now calling data apps) for our hero industries”

Use Astrato to enhance your data analysis capabilities and spur company growth 

Business Intelligence and data visualization solutions like Astrato are your perfect partner in Data Application building and data analysis. Astrato combines easy-to-use no-code tools and powerful real-time analytic capabilities to provide companies with a single pane of glass view of all their operations. 

Its resilient architecture and compatibility with Data Cloud tools, such as Snowflake, enables you to scale and alter your Data App functionalities as your company evolves.

Book a demo to learn more about how Astrato can aid your company’s digital transformation.