The changing landscape of data

The world of data and technology is moving at an unprecedented rate, and everyone is aware of the profound changes happening to our economy as a result. The relationship that businesses have with data has undergone a huge transformation over the last few years, and while this can present some confusion and challenges, the clarity it can bring is incredibly powerful for the businesses who know how to use it.

Even just five years ago, the priority for many organisations when it comes to data was to collect as much as possible, often without a clear plan for how to use it. This quickly lead to data silos, messy sources of data and ultimately, missed insight and opportunities.

Now, data is increasingly at the heart of strategy. Businesses use real-time analytics, AI, and dashboards to inform decisions across marketing, operations, finance, and more. The emphasis has shifted to deriving actionable insights and measurable value from data, increasingly using AI and advanced analytics.

These changes have very much been a part of Jersey Business’s trajectory over the last few years. While we were lucky to have a wealth of data on businesses in the local economy, the data was stored and organised in a way that was difficult to draw valuable insight from as it wasn’t always clear, consistent, and easy to understand.

The Data Project we undertook in 2024 was an attempt to overhaul and modernise our internal data system, enabling us to really take ownership of our data and use it to improve both our own services, and to offer insight to others on changes and trends in Jersey’s business landscape.

Using Microsoft Fabric and Power BI, we brought together the data held in our CRM and visualised it cleanly in one place. The interactivity of Power BI dashboards is incredibly insightful, allowing us to see patterns of activity across sectors and types of organisation in just a few clicks.

Having a clear, simplified view of your data not only facilitates better decision-making, it also democratises data by making it far more accessible to those who might not be quite so tech-savvy. This unlocks a huge amount of potential across an organisation as many team members have very different viewpoints that could be overlooked if they weren’t part of the data journey. Data often sparks valuable conversations around strategy that are all the better for being more inclusive.

Now in 2025, the pace of change when it comes to the explosion of AI and the importance of data shows no signs of slowing down. The use of data dashboards in the workplace, in small businesses as much as larger ones, is set to play an increasingly important role. Interactive dashboards are already very common, such as those made with Power BI. Artificial intelligence will play more of a role in not just showing us our data but giving us valuable ideas and analysis based on its own interpretation. This will soon make it much easier for us to predict the future based on current trends.

We know that 89% of businesses in Jersey have under 10 employees. For small businesses, it’s more accessible than ever to really take control of your data and start using it to make better business decisions. Many businesses will already be collecting data on customers. Identify what you have already, and what’s missing that could be really valuable to you. Sometimes just adding or adapting one question on a sign-up form could make a big difference to understanding your customers and helping target them better. It’s important to keep things simple – both for you and your clients – while making sure you’re asking the right questions. There are plenty of tools available to help visualise your data, many of which don’t require a huge investment up front. Looker Studio, Power BI, and Google Charts all have free plans and don’t require an in-depth knowledge of coding to set up.

Using data in the right way can be incredibly valuable for businesses that know how to use it. With the rise in popularity of AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Copilot, knowing how to approach this is becoming so much easier. For businesses in Jersey, now is the best time to start taking advantage of data, as the benefits can be enormous.