Business Travel Executive, August 2018

at each area of the data lifecycle Point of sale payment data aggregation enrichment cleansing consolidation timeliness of data data quality and visualization reporting intelligence You will want to clearly define your objectives for each area and define why it is important in the context of the goals of your program Keep in mind the 80 20 rule that states 20 of what you do generates 80 of your results So keep it simple Come up with the 1 2 most important objectives under each area For example for point of sale payment does it make sense for your program to implement virtual single use cards to streamline hotel purchases and reconciliation or does a traditional BTA account work Why Many programs dont achieve the results they want because they dont know what they want or they try to do too much Keepin g it simple and focused on the 1 2 most important things will not only make the program easier to run but also deliver real results Once you have mastered your most important items then you can move on to lesser ones Dont Go It Alone Once you are clear on your objectives and Ninety percent 90 of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone and the pace is only accelerating To give a little perspective Google now processes over 40000 searches every second or 35 billion searches per day Every travel manager has heard about the importance of data and how much power it holds But if you are like most people you say I get it Thats great But how do I truly use it to help me run my program What really matters This is very common because there is so much data and so much that can be done with it Where do you start How do you implement a solid data strategy that generates results Albert Einstein once said Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler The key to a great data strategy is simplicity It is cutting through the noise of the latest trend or shiny object and getting to the things that work and will continue to work consistently With that said here are 4 critical elements of a great data strategy for T E Define Your Objectives and Goals First you will need take a step back and look have begun to formulate your strategy you will need to decide which processes and tasks you will handle internally and which ones you will need to incorporate good partners to accomplish This is a critical step because you will absolutely need good partners to succeed and selecting the wrong partner in an area can derail your entire strategy and even set you back a few years You are not looking for a vendor you are looking for a true partner that will embrace your goals and objectives and work with you long into the future to help you succeed not just deliver a solution Here are some key traits of a great partner They understand reality and are honest and upfront about their capabilities and the potential challenges of implementing the solution s you are partnering with them for They are experienced Since T E has no true data standards you are dealing with the Wild West of data You want to have partners that have deep experience throughout the world understanding and working with the different markets and regional nuances of data They understand that implementing a data strategy is a journey not an event and thus 18Business Travel Executive AUGUST 2018 4 Critical Elements of a Great Data Strategy The