Time Is Money

Time is Money | How Data Analytics & AI Can Help You Find Efficiencies to Improve Business Outcomes

Lixar Data & AI, Tech

As an executive decision-maker, you know that time is money. But did you know that Data Analytics and AI can help you use both more efficiently?

Whatever your industry, from transportation, to energy and manufacturing, finance, and even the public sector, inefficient processes always have a negative impact on your bottom line. When productivity is slowed by common challenges such as poor resource allocation, finicky on-premises infrastructure, or inaccurate predictions about anything from market trends to machine maintenance, time is lost, and costs increase.

It’s clear that if you want to meet and exceed your business outcomes, on time and on budget, efficiency is key. Data Analytics and AI can help get you there.

But to get the most out of your data, it’s important to build a data culture. This is about more than simply adopting new technologies, it’s about nurturing a collective understanding of the role cloud and data play in enabling your organisation’s success, actioned through strategies that embrace innovation; empower employees to make better, impact-oriented decisions; and encourage continuous improvement.

With the right technology, the right culture, and the right partners leveraging their expertise to help guide you through your innovation journey, there’s nothing you can’t achieve. Data Analytics and AI — advanced technologies that are powered by the cloud — are all about exploring and delivering on the art of the possible. At Lixar Fuelled by BDO, we understand that each organization’s journey is unique, depending on where you are and where you want to go. We work with businesses at all levels of cloud and data maturity to build a roadmap that’s right for them, to find efficiencies that will improve their business outcomes and value.

Below, we’ve outlined two success stories, wherein data and AI were leveraged to optimise processes, solving real-world problems and delivering real value.

Data Analytics in Action | Energy Client Story

 Energy Client Story

Like many energy companies these days, this client was equipped with many IoT Sensors to capture readings on a per-second basis, allowing them to identify and address potential problems before they occur. However, the data was being retrieved and analyzed by a third party, using a time consuming manual process, and delivered to the client only once daily. This inhibited their ability to make data-driven decisions and take action quickly. To be effective, they needed a way to access accurate data, much more frequently.

A vital first step for any data analytics initiative is to ensure you’re fully cloud-enabled, which is the only way to truly unlock innovation, and the basis of our Lixar Cloud Adoption Framework. Once we got the client in the cloud, we were able to leverage our award-winning data platform, HeroPath, to optimise the existing IoT sensors by providing real-time, advanced data analytics. Comprised of best-in-class components, such as Microsoft Azure Databricks and Microsoft Azure Data Lake, the platform ingests data from the sensors, transforms it, and displays it in interactive dashboards that the user can engage with to find answers and make data-driven decisions on the fly. 

This means finding efficiencies, solving problems before they occur, and more accurate planning — all of which leads to more efficient processes and decision-making.

Key Business Outcomes

  • Near real-time analytics, received 72 times more frequently than before
  • Decreased downtime
  • Increased productivity
  • Asset optimization (schedules, tools, etc)
  • More data-driven approach to decision-making

AI in Action | Transportation Client Story

Transportation Client Story

As we all know, airports have very specific security screening processes which they must follow to remain compliant and keep their passengers safe. However, this particular client recognised that long security lines were having a negative impact on their business, so they wanted to find a way to better forecast passenger arrival times, so that they could optimise staffing schedules to ensure process efficiency, without compromising security. 

Like many businesses, the airport had been collecting massive amounts of data, but did not have a way to actually make use of it. With this in mind, we set out to develop a predictive AI solution that would leverage their historical data by implementing our cloud-based HeroPath data platform to ingest the data and transform it into valuable insights. In doing so, we delivered a security screening optimisation platform; an AI-driven predictive tool that continuously learns and retrains, to provide accurate predictions for passenger arrival times, displayed on an interactive data visualization dashboard. 

The airport uses these predictions to make key decisions about how many lanes to open and how to staff them appropriately. As a result, the airport has been able to save costs on inefficient resourcing, and provide a better customer experience, which has led to an overall  increase in revenue, as passengers are now spending less time in lines, and more time frequenting airport vendors of their choice.

Key Business Outcomes:

  • Optimized security screening process
  • Accurate passenger arrival predictions
  • More efficient resource allocation
  • Better customer experience
  • Increased revenue

To read the full story of this client’s success, check out our Case Study, Helping Airports Optimise Staffing and Save Costs.

Conclusion | Envision What Data Analytics & AI Can Do For You

As the above examples demonstrate, when you have a culture that embraces technology, you can find the efficiencies you need to not only improve your business outcomes, but to drive innovation and future-proof your business. Leveraging data-driven, cloud-powered solutions is about more than adopting technology, it’s about making technology work for you. The goal is not simply to invest in Data Analytics and AI solutions, but to embrace technologies that will accelerate your innovation journey, and help you take your business to the next level. Now is the time to be bold. Envision your potential, and enable your future.

If you’re ready to take the first step on your journey to continuous improvement, we can help. We meet you wherever you are in your cloud and data maturity, and help you get where you want to be. Reach out today to start the conversation with our experts.

Want to learn more about how Data Analytics and AI can help you be more efficient and improve your business outcomes? Join Microsoft and Lixar Fuelled by BDO in our Envisioning | A Data Analytics & AI Executive Webinar, June 29, 9:00 EST.