Data Management Best Practice

Managing Data Can Be Challenging. We Cut the Chaos and Explain Best Practices in Data Management

Not all data that your company manages will be useful. Having access to quality, reliable data that offers strong insight into your customers behaviour is essential to any business. That’s where knowing how to manage data effectively comes in – an automatic strategy that reduces the need for manual labour and cuts down on costly errors. Following data management best practice will ensure that your information remains clean and issue free. So what is data management and what can you do to structure your business?

What Is Data Management?

Data management is the process of collecting, storing and using data in a secure, efficient and cost-effective way. This process helps businesses optimise their data in line with their regulations, and offers overall benefits to the company and its employees. It makes filtering through data much easier, collating it in a place that is easy to find, that is accessible for all.

While there are many ways to organise your company's data, there are some best practices for managing big data that you ought to know. Find out how to manage data below.

How to Manage Data

Well-managed data is in the right place, at the right time – and preferably in the right format.

Benefits of Good Data Management

Our data management tips can bring a whole host of benefits to your business. Including, but not limited to:

• Reduced loss of data: storing and managing data correctly will reduce the risk of you losing it.
• Minimised security risks: using the right software can help keep your data safe and protect against security breaches. It also ensures compliance with your data security regulations and GDPR.
• Improved cost efficiency: having access to the right data will allow you to take advantage of better financial information, meaning you’ll inject less money into ineffective areas and focus on the most profitable causes.
• Better customer targeting: following data management best practices can help your marketing teams gather better information on your customers to increase satisfaction and loyalty.

Best Practices for Managing Big Data

Establish Your Goals

Before jumping right in, start by outlining what your business goals are – to help you understand what you will do with your data. That way, you’re more likely to keep any information relevant to your goal and avoid any extra clutter. In turn, this will help with efficiency and productivity.

Measure the Quality of Your Data

By evaluating your current data set, you can better understand the information you have and pick out the quality data. From this, you can filter through your system and determine what you need and what can go – resulting in a tidier, much more effective approach.

Make Sure Your Data is Readily Accessible

To manage your data properly, you must ensure that all the right people have the access they need. Data management best practice recommends that all information is stored in one central location, eliminating the need to manage multiple systems and locations. Using access controls can also help to manage your file security, and ensure that your data is stored in line with compliance regulations.

Cut Down on Duplicates

Storing your data in one central location will also help to cut down on duplicates that are kept across multiple locations – that way, you know that you’re always working on the right copy of the right file. Version control can also help to keep track of changes to files over time and roll back to previous copies in line with customer data management best practices.

Utilise Strong Naming Conventions

Data management is much easier when you know what you’re looking for. File naming conventions help users to distinguish between data sets and information at a quick glance, speeding up the content searching processes and improving workflows. Being able to browse file names more efficiently and effectively will allow for more productivity and improved collaboration. Learn more about file naming conventions for businesses.

Communicate Clearly

Introduce your data management strategy early to avoid confusion later down the line, including the expected outcome and the benefits that it will bring for your employees. This will help them understand the reasons for your strategy and therefore make them more inclined to stick to these new processes.

Invest in Quality Software

Data management is becoming increasingly digitised, so having access to an up-to-date tool can allow businesses to increase their competitiveness. Manually managing your data is a difficult task that can also take up a lot of your time. That’s why automatic, quality software is required to easily and safely manage your information.

Are you looking for a simple solution to your data management? Virtual Cabinet’s work management software is designed to communicate your information in a way that truly aligns with your business. Our agile software can be adapted to meet your business needs and work with you to create a bespoke solution that helps you build successful relationships through incredible work.

Book your free demo today to see what we can do for you.

‍