Is this Big Data?

Is this Big Data?

Step 1 – Value from Foundations

Many organisations make the mistake of being overly ambitious when it comes to starting data projects. During this initial phase insurers should look to realistically identify and challenge the scope and scale of the project while the objective from this step is to provide value from the organisation’s existing data. Prove (or disprove) the viability for the future steps. The following are some criteria that might be useful for defining the scope:

Select an Area where the Data Coverage is Appropriate

It is ideal during the course of this step to concentrate on providing value from the data. Look to minimize business process changes at this point. The scope might be limited to a particular area (claims for example) for a particular line of business or geography.

Quality Data is Key

Data quality is often an important consideration, particularly for those firms that operate in regions that have Solvency II or Solvency II Equivalency. For a data orientated project the quality of the data is absolutely essential. This doesn’t mean that all of the data has to be 100% certified correct (an unlikely event); you should, however, have confidence in the data being used, and that the areas of poor quality are known and understood.

Data Quantity is Important

As mentioned earlier in this article, most insurance organisations don’t have a shortage of data, so select an area that has an appropriate volume of data to work with.

Go Where You Can Demonstrate Value

Are there areas of your business that are crying out for information? Most organisations contain such areas where demonstrable value can be found and these are ideal candidates for this initial step, the provision of additional information, and becoming advocates for future steps.

Education and Advocates

All organisational change requires education to help the organisation to understand both the potential and the consequences of the change so make sure that this is included in Step 1.

Set and Manage Goals and Expectations

As with any programme of work, it is important that the goals and expectations are set, communicated and managed. Despite the high degree of technology required to deliver the end solution, this (as with most projects) should be a business led project. There needs to be good executive sponsorship to ensure the successful outcome.

The goals and objectives for this step should be clear, business orientated and in plain English, for example:

• Establish a data warehouse to store data from the required line of business/geography etc.
• Consolidate data from system A, B and C into the data warehouse
• Implement data visualisation/reporting to allow exploration of the data, allowing the business to identify trends, new product opportunities and to enable information-led decision making within the line of business/geography etc.
• Provide access to critical business information (provide specifics)

The ability to demonstrate value is critical for any major project or programme, and should be considered a critical part of the management of the project. Next week I look at how global data considerations impact on legal and regulatory requirement.