Technology and Data

Safely using technology and data

Cyber security is all about keeping your data and business safe. This is especially important as you explore and implement new technologies and manage your data. As you work through the technologies and data management aspects of this lesson, think about what you'll need to put in place and consider to keep your business safe.

Here’s some examples from the NCSC to give you an idea:

Why is data important?

Let’s start with a look at your business.

• What’s it doing right now?
• How about others in your sector – what are they doing?
• Can you spot a gap in the market?
• Are you aware of new or changing consumer needs?
• What do you want to do next?

Once you know what you want to do, data can help you do it. Let's look at some examples.

The data you use

We use data from different sources. Here are the main types of data that you’re likely to keep or use:

• Customer data – contact details, sales history, preferences and habits
• Financial data – invoices, receipts, records of sales and costs
• Product data – stock levels, price points, when to reorder
• Staff data – payroll details, working hours, leave dates
• Marketing data – Conversion rates, customer groupings
• Logistics data – supply chain details, equipment records for repairs
• Website and social media data – website traffic, social media engagement

Tools to help

So you’ve got all this data – now what? The right tools can help you make the most of it. That may be finding patterns in your sales data that you can use to upsell or cross-sell. It may be a safe place to hold your financial data. Want to know how effective your latest email campaign was? There are tools for that, too.

Let’s look at the different tools available and what you can use them for.

Analytics tools

This includes spreadsheets, plus tools to view and report on your data. These tools can be simple or complex. It all depends on what they do. So think about what is going to help your business.

These tools can:

• Track and measure – From stock levels to customer ratings
• Predict performance – Like a forecast of sales based on last year
• Give ‘what if’ information – Explore how price changes may affect sales, for example
• Diagnose causes – Did that review harm sales last week?

Examples of these tools include: Microsoft Excel, Google Analytics, SAS and Looker

Data storage tools

With all this data, you need somewhere to store it. Here are the options:

Rules on data use

The main rule to think about is GDPR – the UK General Data Protection Regulation. To find out more about this and how it impacts your business, check out the ICO site. There’s a range of help and advice here. This includes help on how to keep to the rules when you send marketing messages by phone, email or text.

What is ‘the cloud’?

So far, we’ve just talked about cloud as a way to store your data. There’s so much more to it, though.

Do you use Google Docs or OneDrive to share your files? Slack or Discord to keep in touch with your team? Salesforce or HubSpot to check sales? Point of Sale (POS) systems like Shopify or TouchBistro? Then you’re using cloud right now.

With cloud, you don’t need to buy or rent hardware. There’s no software to maintain, either. Cloud lets you manage your sales, your team, your bookings and more – all through the internet.

Benefits and considerations

Let’s look at the pros and cons of cloud.

Cloud platforms

Cloud products and services fall into one of these four areas.

What is Artificial intelligence (AI)?

AI is how computer systems mimic human intelligence. So computers can take on tasks that only people were able to perform in the past. AI tools include everything from voice assistants to content generators.

In business, we can use AI to help analyse data and predict trends. It speeds up day-to-day tasks and can be a valuable business resource. There are many free or low-cost AI tools.

A recent Forbes survey of business owners found that:

Deepen your learning

Get started with related learning on Skillsoft Percipio that can help you with understanding AI and machine learning.

How AI can help your business

With so many businesses keen to use AI, what can it do for yours?

Here are some ways that these tools can help:

• Save time and money – Automate tasks like data entry and stock management
• Make better decisions – Analyse data and gain insights about customers, competitors and processes
• Stay competitive – Spot gaps, trends and get the price right
• Improve customer service – Speed up customer queries and sales with 24/7 support

Let’s look at some examples:

Boost your customer service

Chatbots are computer programs that mimic human conversation. Sometimes we call them virtual assistants. Customers use them to ask for help or information. They’ll give instant answers to customer questions. So both you and your customers save time. They may also cut costs and free up your team’s time.

Customers can use chatbots to:

• Search for products – See what meets their needs, with price, features and reviews
• Place orders – They can even suggest something else if an item isn’t available
• Track parcels – Find out where their parcel is, track and manage its delivery
• Ask a FAQ – Key information like service hours, delivery times and return options
• Report an issue – Takes and records details for follow-up
• Give feedback – Prompts customers to give star ratings, so you can see trends and preferences

Examples include: ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing Chat and HubSpot Chatbot Builder

Boost your marketing impact

How and where do you focus your marketing? AI marketing tools cover many platforms, including:

• General content creation – Free AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot can help with social site posts, blog content and emails
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – Check keywords, content and competitors, to raise your online profile
• Google Ads optimisation – These tools automate your bid strategies, analyse ad performance and tweak targeting values
• Social media marketing – Find trending topics, segment your customer base and tailor social media campaigns
• Email marketing – Learn customer preferences and best times to send automated and personalised email messages

How can AI tools help your business?

Get started with AI

Why not try out AI for yourself? Start with one of the free options, like ChatGPT or MS CoPilot.

Ask it a business-related question. For example, ‘how can I optimise my pricing?’

Prepare to have a full chat with this tool. It will ask you more questions to find out about the problem. You’ll see it refine the solution as it learns more.

Streamline your business processes

In the last chapter, we touched on process automation as part of AI. Automation in general is one of the main ways you can use technology to help streamline your business' processes. To find out more about AI and automation and hear from some real business examples, watch our video on AI made in collaboration ith WIRED.

Deepen your learning - Automation

If you want to hear more about automation and what it could bring to your business goals, there's a lot more learning available to you. Access one of our free licenses with Skillsoft Percipio and take a look at their automation learning channel.

Plan how you want to use this

We’ve given you some ideas on how you can use technology and data to help your business. Now it’s time to reflect on these. Take time to make notes to follow up and explore further.

Related learning links