Real-Time Reporting Platform for Operational Systems

Digital transformation has drastically expanded the use of operational systems, IoT, and other technologies within companies’ business processes. This is a good thing.  It means that end-users, whether they be employees, partners, or customers, are more productive. The introduction of modern operational technologies and integrating them into business processes is only the first step in the digital transformation journey. Next comes a focus on managing operational data and developing real-time reporting platforms that give operators and decision-makers better control over digitally transformed processes.

Digital Transformation Has Created More Real-Time Data

A farmer with a tractor is more productive than a farmer with a hoe and rake. That was the story 20 years ago when companies embraced the first wave of IT in things like CRM and ERP. Today there is a new story “A farmer with a drone, a robotic tractor, and data at his disposal can increase crop yield and bigger profits.” The difference here isn’t the technology – technology is continuously improving and improves efficiency/productivity incrementally. The change is how the modern farmer uses data. New farm technology generates real-time data, but it is the reporting platform that enables the farmer to make better-informed decisions, directing his/her time and the farm’s resources in more effective ways.

Data-Driven Decision-Making Drives Value and Profits

Most people reading this article aren’t farmers – this situation holds true for other businesses too. The digital transformation brought with it a technology upgrade and the introduction of new operational systems in all industries. Retailers are using new point-of-sale (POS) technology for tracking each individual item that is sold and RFID on shopping carts to track customer flow throughout their stores. This new technology is excellent, but it is the reporting platform that enables them to do dynamic inventory management, optimize stock levels to maximize inventory turnover and store layouts and product offerings to changing customer preferences.

Hospitals and healthcare companies are using recently installed healthcare management systems to capture patient data, share information between providers, and orchestrate orders for tests and medication. These systems make doctors, nurses, and other staff more effective in directing patient care. What you don’t see as a patient is the additional layer of technology on top of the operational system. A real-time reporting platform is used by clinic managers, scheduling staff, and others (similar to the retail example) to ensure that the provider’s time is optimized, exam rooms, and other facilities are fully utilized, supplies, and medications are stocked and available. The data collected from the operational systems and operational processes are aggregated in a reporting platform to enable real-time management decisions.

Telecommunications companies have implemented monitoring within their networks, in mobile apps, and integrated into customer devices (like cable set-top boxes) to capture data about customer viewing preferences and usage of their services. This data is streamed into a real-time reporting platform where it can be analyzed for patterns and opportunities to increase revenue, calculate costs, and identify system issues impacting user experience. Operators and decision-makers then use these insights to optimize networks for performance and peak utilization, provide personalized content offerings/ads to customers, and direct repair and maintenance efforts.

Real-Time Reporting Platforms Unlock the Value Potential of Operational Systems

If you are like many companies, you’ve spent the past few years doing technology upgrades focused on business processes and end-user experience. Are you harvesting the full value from these operational system investments? Real-time reporting platforms like Actian can help you unlock the unrealized potential of your operational systems. Actian can help you aggregate streaming data from all your data sources into one place, analyze trends/patterns, convert data into meaningful insights, and get those insights into the hands of operators and decision-makers faster.

This isn’t about enabling your users and processes; it’s about optimizing your business. Real-time operational analytics and reporting help you identify opportunities, risks, and issues that need to be addressed faster. By seeing the problem sooner, you can address it sooner. By addressing the problem sooner, you can maximize the opportunities, mitigate the risks, and address the issues to optimize both your costs and revenue. The end result… more profits for your business. This is the goal, and a real-time reporting platform from Actian can help you achieve it.

Learn more about Actian’s real-time connected data warehouse at https://www.actian.com/solutions/connected-data-warehouse/.

About Actian Corporation

Actian makes data easy. We deliver cloud, hybrid, and on-premises data solutions that simplify how people connect, manage, and analyze data. We transform business by enabling customers to make confident, data-driven decisions that accelerate their organization’s growth. Our data platform integrates seamlessly, performs reliably, and delivers at industry-leading speeds.