Buidling a company out of bytes

Abstract

The topic of this thesis will be focused on data analytics and how companies can successfully structure themselves in order to get the most out of this powerful tool and integrate this into their strategic decision-making. Current literature on the topic tends to be more focused on the ability of advanced technologies to improve business performance, but not enough is written about what a company should do to capitalize on these tools. Due to the overwhelming tide of technology and its capabilities, companies need to be able to navigate a complex, growing, global economy at the heart of which are the mountains of data that are produced every day. Navigating this new area of business is not something that is to be taken lightly. Businesses make mistakes when it comes to building their organization and strategies to be data-driven. Yet other businesses have been able to thrive in this new era of technological advancement. The core areas of business that allow a company to succeed is an excellent understanding of where they currently sit with regards to data analytics, where they want to be in the future, and how they are going to get there. This thesis focuses on the how, and more specifically, how a company build themselves into an effective user of data analytics. In order to expand on the academic and practical discussion about the integration of data analytics capabilities, this thesis asks the question: How can companies structure themselves in order to integrate data analytics into their strategic decision-making?