Data analysis can help your company make money — but data isn’t free. In fact, although obtaining good data isn’t always difficult, it can be expensive. For example, the randomized control trials needed to do medical experimentation and patient observations in the health care and pharmaceutical industries can easily cost millions. Data storage can get into a similar price range. So ask your data scientists about the specific costs of obtaining and analyzing the data you need before moving forward with an analytics project. Be sure to find out the nonfinancial costs as well, such as potential violations of user privacy. Even seemingly anonymized data can be used to identify individuals. And safely anonymized data can be de-anonymized when combined with other data sets. Discuss these risks with your data scientists, especially when working with your company’s sensitive consumer data.
Adapted from the HBR Guide to Data Analytics Basics for Managers
