Marcin Mandryk, Sales Operations Executive CEE & Product Manager at Iron Mountain, answered 5 questions about digitisation and data management in companies, pointing out that “over the past two years, organisations have come to the conclusion that operating effectively without the support of technology is not possible in today’s business reality.”
1. why is data now being identified as another factor of production, alongside capital, land and labour?
We have known for a long time that data are the most important resource of any organisation, no matter what industry it represents. They play an extremely important role because they enable rational business decisions to be made. Therefore, developing the area of data analytics within a company is critical. In 2021 alone, we produced nearly 74 Zettabytes of data, and it is estimated that this number will double in the next two years. Appropriate data management is therefore one of the key challenges for modern business.
2 What are the most common mistakes companies make in relation to data management and collection?
Data is only of significant value if we can go back to it quickly and easily extract the information we need. Therefore, I believe that the biggest mistake is to use company resources to collect and analyse data unreflectively. In my opinion, the key is to draw valuable conclusions from them that have an impact on day-to-day operations, which is helped by artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithms, among others. According to Ernst & Young experts, companies only use 5-10% of the data they collect. In the plethora of unstructured information, they hardly realise what resources they have at their disposal. Furthermore, storing redundant and unused data generates financial expenses and increases vulnerability to cyber threats.
(3) Companies around the world are paying increasing attention to the problem of environmental pollution and aiming to generate the lowest possible carbon footprint. Does inefficient data management have a negative impact on environmental issues?
By downplaying the issue of data management, companies are not being particularly kind to the environment. The first thing that comes to mind is the piles of paper documentation that we very often generate and archive without any significant need. Advances in technology or legislative changes mean that organisations are increasingly using digital resources, minimising the number of sheets of paper they collect. This makes business greener, but digitisation does not solve all environmental problems. While it is disproportionately less costly to maintain digitised data than all the resources required to produce traditional documents, the electronic dustbin should not be enlarged any more than necessary. Achieving the sustainable development goals through modern technology therefore requires, first and foremost, a strategic change of approach to the subject of information management. We should move away from the idea of collecting data, whatever form it takes, to optimising processes and using the full potential of the resources we already have.
4 What arguments are most likely to convince companies to invest in high-level data management?
We recognise that, in most cases, organisations expect innovations to primarily reduce the costs of day-to-day operations, increase efficiency and optimise processes, and thus achieve a rapid return on investment. However, we signal at every opportunity that digital transformation should be implemented as part of a consistent strategy rather than ad hoc measures. According to the Iron Mountain survey, as many as 86% of respondents report that new technology solutions have helped their companies achieve a competitive advantage. Over time, however, digitalisation has become a business imperative, as the pandemic period has proven to us. Many companies, despite growing market awareness of the potential of modern technology, only initiated digital transformation when circumstances demanded it. Over the past two years, organisations have come to the conclusion that operating effectively without the support of technology is not possible in today’s business reality.
5 Which industries are currently most likely to use data management services? Why do you think this is?
The digitalisation of business in Poland is progressing, and our domestic market is characterised by high dynamics in the implementation of modern technological solutions. Today, organisations from all sectors of the economy are taking part in the digital transformation, but for many years the undisputed leader in this area has been the financial sector, which covers nearly 60% of all implementations. A similar trend can be observed in other Central and Eastern European countries, among which Poland ranks high, second in terms of digitalisation. The technological maturity of the financial and insurance sectors is due to the specific nature of the companies’ activities, which have always struggled with a huge amount of documentation. Their openness to innovation now enables them to shape their product portfolios in response to market expectations, personalise the consumer experience, and serve customers in real time 24/7.
Marcin Mandryk – Holds the position of Sales Operations Executive CEE & Product Manager at Iron Mountain. He holds international certifications in the areas of Product Management, Product Marketing and Process and Project Management. Previously, he worked for, among others, Nordea Bank, Expander Advisiors and Polbank EFG. A graduate of the Cracow University of Economics at the Faculty of Economics and International Relations.
