Everybody knows the power of data. Data science, AI, and new chipset technologies are all enabling data collection to expand into new applications. With this in mind it’s easy to see data collection and measurement as the goal itself. However, data measurement itself when not acted upon is not sufficient for most businesses. What most businesses need are solutions. Businesses need not only data, but the insights derived from the data that solve their challenges. 

Companies that can deliver not only the data, but provide insights derived from this information stand to benefit. This model of value delivery is called Insights as a Service. By combining the technological details of collecting the correct data, with the power of data and domain experts to interpret the information, the insights as a service model directly targets the actual pain point felt by the customer. In our mission to use insights to keep Industrial Athletes™ protected, StrongArm has successfully delivered insights as a service to our clients for years using the following principles:

Data Integrity is #1

The foundation of any data analysis rests with the accuracy and reliability of the data source. Taken in the wearables context, this means extensive 3rd party validation of sensor hardware, data metrics, and data security to ensure the underlying data is both relevant and accurate. When thousands of individuals depend and trust on data to help keep them safe, accuracy and completeness of the data is non-negotiable. StrongArm’s systems have been built from the ground up to ensure our insights are built on the best data.

Get Granular

To unlock value for clients with data, surface-level analysis does not suffice. Data-driven insights must be based on high-fidelity, detailed information that is not captured anywhere else. Take an example – many businesses know which time of year they are at highest risk of injury based on past history. However most can not then answer which month, day, hour, or minute they are at highest risk, or for what reasons. By providing data at a detailed level of granularity never before seen, the possibilities for custom solutions and risk mitigation are much greater. Products that deliver this are by their nature better suited to providing insights that impact the bottom line.

Actionability – Address the “So What?”

A common critique of big data and data collection in general is translating information into action. Knowing about a risk is different than knowing how to address it. Companies that practice insights as a service deliver both the information, and an action plan to effect change. Oftentimes this requires subject-matter expertise separate from data – perhaps in physical sciences, safety, or IT to interpret the information and recommend action. Instead of relying on the data customer to provide those resources, companies like StrongArm that collect data also provide this expertise to interpret the data for clients. 

StrongArm realizes this approach by also providing the technology to solve common safety challenges. These include the ability to deliver behavioral alerting when ergonomic risks are detected, as well as wearables that can help prevent equipment collisions when data collected shows humans and machines are in close proximity. With this approach, clients are provided with a full-package solution that both identifies and addresses their pain points.

Deliver Insights on the Solutions

For best-in-class service, data-driven insights do not stop at a recommendation. Similar to traditional management consultancies, clients expect not only a solution recommendation, but a quantifiable impact. With an insights as a service model, the same technology used to collect data to assess challenges also serves to validate impact. In this manner, smaller tests of solutions can be leveraged with data to justify larger investments within the organization. This makes change both more likely to initiate, scale, and succeed. By completing the full cycle of insight from discovery to implementation, clients receive a one-stop-shop solution to resolving their challenges, and are more likely to expand and repeat successes with the same technology.

With these principles in mind, delivering value through data insights as a service can powerfully transform any industry.