The Untold Advantages of Using Internal Data in Sharing Platforms

Imagine you’re the coach of a basketball team. You have an upcoming game, and you’ve got two sources of information. The first is public: stats about your opponents, their win-loss records, and game footage that anyone can watch. The second is internal: your team’s strengths, weaknesses, and secret plays. While everyone focuses on studying the opponents, your real advantage comes from knowing your own team inside and out. Similarly, in the realm of data sharing platforms, internal data is your insider knowledge—underrated and incredibly powerful for making game-winning strategies.

Internal data, like financials and customer info, is often overlooked but shouldn’t be. Although there’s a cost to store it on external platforms, the insights are worth it. By uploading this data to sharing platforms, you can cross-reference it with market trends or customer feedback. Using this extra layer of info gives you a fuller picture and makes your decision-making sharper.   Yet, many businesses undervalue this data, sticking mostly to sales metrics and missing out on its full potential when combined with external info on sharing platforms.

Understanding data sharing platforms

Data sharing platforms are online resources facilitating the exchange of information among users. Various types of data sharing platforms are available, including:

• Rental platforms for peer-to-peer transactions, like Airbnb  
• Social media platforms for content sharing, like Twitter
• Knowledge-sharing platforms, like Wikipedia
• File-sharing platforms, which you can use for primary data collection, like Dropbox

Data sharing platforms make it easy to collaborate and access things like HR data quickly. But they’re not without hiccups. Security is a big concern; you have to make sure only authorized users can see sensitive info. You also need to double-check that the data you’re using is accurate. Plus, there are specific guidelines for how to share data that you need to follow. So while these platforms can make your life easier, you have to stay vigilant about these challenges.

Benefits of data sharing platforms

Data sharing platforms are like the Swiss Army knife you never knew you needed but can’t live without. They tackle real business problems—from simplifying complex data analysis to breaking down communication silos. Here’s how they’re essential:

• Informed Decision-Making: Instantly pull relevant data to make quick, informed decisions without sifting through spreadsheets
• Team Collaboration: Share large data files with teammates in seconds, not hours
• Customer Insight: Use external data sources to get a 360-view of what your customers actually want.
• Strategy Planning: Combine internal and external data to tailor your marketing, product development, or sales strategy. Think of these platforms as the go-to toolkit for managing data chaos and turning it into actionable insight.    

Data sharing platforms aren’t just nice to have, it’s hard to imagine how we ever managed without them. They’re fast becoming as essential as email or a good cup of coffee to kickstart the workday.

The complexity of using internal data on sharing platforms

Although your internal data is useful, it’s not the whole picture. To really understand the market and make smart guesses about the future, you need to mix in some external info, such as market data or consumer sentiment. Stick only to internal data and you risk missing big opportunities or letting customers down. Platforms that offer external data simplify the process of merging internal and external info, speeding up your analysis and allowing for more informed decision-making across various business functions. Plus, you might find additional hidden perks when you blend internal and external data.

How internal data fits into a comprehensive data strategy

Internal data serves as your compass on data sharing platforms, where businesses swap and analyze both internal and external datasets. With endless streams of outside data—like market trends or customer feedback—being constantly updated, your own data helps you navigate and make sense of it all.

Uploading internal data to sharing platforms has its perks, like easier team collaboration and smarter decision-making. But it’s not all smooth sailing; there are challenges to watch out for. They include:

• Keeping your data secure: Prevents unauthorized access to sensitive information such as customer data, financial data, and employee data. It’s challenging because securing internal data is complex and requires a comprehensive security strategy.
• Ensuring data quality: Provides accurate insights and decisions, but it can be messy and inconsistent due to different sources, formats, and errors. It’s challenging because cleaning and standardizing data is time-consuming and requires specialized tools and processes.
• Complying with legal regulations: Internal data may contain information that is subject to legal regulations, such as personal data or financial data. It’s challenging to ensure compliance because the legal landscape around data privacy and security is complex and constantly changing. 

Businesses that can successfully overcome these challenges can reap the benefits of internal data sharing, such as improved decision-making, increased innovation, and reduced costs.

Traditional benefits of internal data

Using internal data on sharing platforms has some cool, lesser-known perks, like real-time collaboration between teams, easily integrating with other data sources for richer insights, or even automated analytics features. But don’t forget the usual upsides like trustworthiness, control, and getting a leg up on the competition. These standard benefits have always been key to business success.

Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness means the data is reliable and accurate. Since the company handles its own internal data, it’s usually more up-to-date than outside sources. That makes it valuable for making smart business choices, like setting prices, choosing what products to launch, and figuring out which marketing strategies are working. 

Control over data

Data control is about managing who gets to see and use your data. After you’ve got a good grip on data control, you can make sure it’s accurate, safe, and complies with the rules. 

Let’s say you run an online store. With solid data control, only certain team members would have access to customer data. You’d regularly check this info for errors, have security measures to keep it safe, and make sure it’s stored in a way that follows privacy laws. Controlling data helps you avoid mix-ups, breaches, and legal headaches.

Businesses that exercise robust control over their data are able to:

• Maintain the integrity of their data
• Protect sensitive information from unauthorized access
• Use their data to gain insights and make informed decisions

Competitive advantage

Using your own data can give you a competitive edge by showing what your customers like and what’s trending. This gives you useful context on your target market. Plus, it can point you to new ways to grow and come up with fresh ideas.

Let’s say you run an online shoe store. You notice from your sales data that athletic shoes are selling like hotcakes, but formal shoes aren’t doing as well. You could pivot and focus more on athletic wear, maybe even launch a new line of workout gear. Another idea might be to use customer feedback to create a shoe that combines style and comfort, something buyers say they want but can’t find. In this case, you’re not just selling shoes; you’re solving a problem. That’s a solid way to beat the competition.

The untold advantages of internal data

As we delve deeper into the world of internal data sharing, we uncover the untold advantages it offers, such as data synergy across departments, predictive analytics and future planning, and enhanced customer personalization. These benefits can boost your business by making things run more smoothly, helping people work together, and sparking new ideas.

Data synergy across departments

Data synergy mixes different kinds of data to give you a full picture of your data and reveal new opportunities. It helps you understand your business, your customers, and what’s happening in the market. This understanding can lead to making smarter choices.

Data synergy across departments offers several benefits, including: 

• Streamlined communication: Teams spend less time searching for data and more time acting on it
• Cross-department insights: Different teams learn from each other’s data
• Unified KPIs: A common data pool sets and measures shared goals for everyone
• Faster problem-solving: Quick issue identification and team-based solutions

Predictive analytics and future planning

Predictive analytics uses past data to guess what might happen next. Sharing internal data gives you more info to work with, making your guesses more accurate. It can also help you spot trends or patterns you might’ve missed before.

Businesses use predictive analytics to:

• Detect potential risks and opportunities
• Devise strategies to respond to risks
• Predict customer demand
• Optimize operations
• Plan strategically for the future and stay ahead of the competition

Predictive analysis is not just about forecasting, it’s also about readiness. The more accurate your predictions, the better you can prepare your team and adapt your business strategies. In a world where things change fast, this kind of heads-up can be a game-changer.

Enhanced customer personalization

Internal data sharing is when different parts of a company swap data with other departments. By analyzing various types of customer information, like surveys, feedback, and especially purchase history, you can really get a handle on what your customers are looking for. This data not only helps you personalize their experience but also serves as a goldmine for understanding customer behavior overall.

Making customers happy can decrease churn and increase satisfaction. This can lead to more sales, especially if customers feel you’re tailoring the experience to them. Sharing data between departments is key for making your business all about the customer.

Challenges and considerations

Using internal data on sharing platforms isn’t all smooth sailing. You’ve got to make sure data is accurate, up-to-date, and stored safely. Plus, you can’t forget about following security rules and regulations.

Sharing data comes with some risks like leaks, bad data protection, and trust issues within the company. If you’re using data sharing platforms, be aware and take steps to fix these issues. Plan to employ strong security measures, encryption, and rules for how to share data safely.

Internal data sharing: How Revelate fits in

Revelate is a data sharing platform that helps organizations make better decisions by making their data more accessible and usable. Revelate’s self-service data marketplace makes it easy for employees to find and access the data they need, regardless of their technical expertise.

Revelate help organizations improve their internal data sharing in a number of ways by:

• Making data more accessible: Revelate’s self-service data marketplace makes it easy for employees to find and access the data they need, regardless of storage location or format 
• Improving data quality: Revelate’s data cataloging and governance tools help organizations ensure that their data is accurate, complete, and consistent
• Increasing data usage: Revelate makes it easy for employees to use data to make better decisions. Revelate’s data visualization and analytics tools make it easy to explore and analyze data, and to create reports and dashboards that can be shared with others

By improving internal data sharing, Revelate helps organizations improve their efficiency, productivity, and decision-making.

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Frequently asked questions

What is internal data and external data?

Internal data is information generated from within the business, such as operations, maintenance, personnel, and finance. External data is generated outside the business and includes market statistics, surveys, questionnaires, research, and customer feedback.

What are the main benefits of using internal data on sharing platforms?

The use of internal data on sharing platforms enables departments to work together synergistically, allowing for predictive analytics and future planning as well as enhanced customer personalization.

How can businesses overcome the challenges associated with using internal data on sharing platforms?

Businesses can ensure secure data sharing by implementing appropriate security protocols, encryption techniques, and setting policies and procedures.