In recent years, the world has experienced an explosion of data production, leaving companies with vast amounts of information at their fingertips. The challenge now lies in how to effectively harness this data. With businesses being inundated with a plethora of sources, the pressure to manage this flood of information is greater than ever. It is crucial for organisations to find ways to consolidate their data in a structured, meaningful manner, enabling teams to make informed, data-driven decisions.
At TouchstoneLIVE 2024 in October of this year we launched our data management service, Touchstone Data Services. In this blog, we delve into how our new managed service, powered by TimeXtender, is designed to help businesses overcome their data management challenges. Is your business struggling to consolidate data from multiple sources, finding it difficult to extract meaningful insights, or in need of a more structured approach to managing information? If so, continue reading to discover how Touchstone Data Services could be the right solution to meet your business needs.
The Problem: Data Overload, Excel Over-reliance
For many businesses, Microsoft Excel is the go-to tool for managing data. It is quick, easy to use and, most importantly, familiar. But as your organisation scales, so does the complexity of your data. Relying on Excel becomes more of a hindrance than a help. Spreadsheets may work well for simple tasks, but they can quickly become unmanageable, error-prone, and lack the robust capabilities needed for today’s data-driven decision-making.
So, what is the alternative? The key lies in taking a step back, assessing how you handle, centralise it, and unlock your data’s true potential. This is where structured data management comes into play.
Structured Data Management: Bringing It All Together
A structured approach to data management focuses on integrating and organising your data in a way that is scalable, reliable, and insightful. Instead of manually manipulating spreadsheets, you should consider investing in more sophisticated solutions that provide the following benefits:
Unified Data Sources: Eliminate silos by consolidating your data from various systems into one centralised platform. This not only provides a single source of truth but also ensures data accuracy and completeness.
Automation: Data automation workflows reduce the risk of human error and allow real-time data updates. This leads to better decision-making with current, reliable information.
Scalability: As your organisation grows, so will your data needs. Structured solutions grow with you, ensuring you can handle increasing volumes of data without sacrificing speed or accuracy.
Advanced Analytics: Beyond basic reporting, structured systems enable advanced analytics, from predictive insights to AI-driven automation, offering real-time, actionable insights that are impossible to glean from Excel.
The Challenge: Many Organisations Are Not There Yet
Of course, large enterprises often have entire teams of data specialists to manage these complex systems. But what if your organisation is at the beginning of its data journey? You may not have a fully-fledged data team, yet you know what you need from your data—be it improved decision-making, operational efficiencies, or customer insights.
It is here that many organisations hit a roadblock. You understand the value of data, but you are unsure how to bridge the gap between your current capabilities and where you want to be.
The Solution: Touchstone Data Services
This is where Touchstone Data Services comes into the picture. If your organisation finds itself in that tricky middle ground—too much data for Excel but not yet ready for a full-scale data team— Touchstone Data Services offers a flexible, scalable solution that grows with your needs.
Touchstone Data Services is designed to provide structured data management without requiring a massive data team. It helps you achieve the insights and results you need, regardless of where you are on your data journey. With Touchstone Data Services, your organisation can:
- Capture and consolidate data from diverse sources.
- Organise it into a scalable platform, enabling easy access and real-time updates.
- Visualise and analyse data to uncover actionable insights.
Most importantly, Touchstone does all the heavy lifting for you in connecting to the data, transforming, and generating an endpoint, so all you need to do is provide your data sources, the storage location (on-premises or cloud), and the required output. The solution is underpinned by TimeXtender’s Holistic Data Suite, providing access to hundreds of pre-built data source connectors and endpoints such as Power BI, Tableau, CSV, or API.
By leveraging a tailored solution, you can focus on your desired outputs—whether it is improved reporting, forecasting, or data-driven decision-making—without the steep learning curve or the need for a specialised in-house team. Touchstone Data Services helps you take control of your data in a structured and efficient way, bypassing the limitations of traditional methods like Excel, and unlocking the full potential of your business intelligence.
In conclusion, organisations today are inundated with data but often struggle to fully leverage its potential. It is essential for businesses to implement a structured data management approach—one that surpasses the limitations of Excel and delivers clarity, efficiency, and a clear path to better decision-making. Whether you are just beginning your data journey or already have a vision for the desired outcomes, Touchstone Data Services can bridge the gap, providing scalable, effective solutions to transform your data into a powerful strategic asset.
Interested in exploring how Touchstone Data Services can support your business? Reach out to our TouchstoneBI team today to discuss your needs and how we can best assist your company in achieving its data goals.
