Data Acceleration Minimizes the ‘Innovation Gap’

“Demand for innovation is growing, and it’s growing rapidly,” commented Accenture’s Jitendra Kavathekar at the Delphix Data event in San Francisco recently. “We need to connect people to technology to drive change around the globe.”

We sit on the cusp of a major technological breakthrough that will have long-lasting impact on the ways we live our lives, striving for deeper understanding of science, human behavior and better ways to live.

To unlock this potential, Jitendra explains, we need to think differently, to tap into our inner passion and curiosity and to overcome what many are calling an “innovation gap.”

Because most organizations today are under immense pressure to deliver innovation to market faster than ever before, the innovation gap is acutely felt. Organizations are fundamentally underequipped to operate at the speed required to react to changing market dynamics.

Why? The immense quantities of meaningful data these organizations collect are overwhelming their data management capabilities. The people who need the data can’t get access to it in a timely way, which drags down the pace of innovation. “There’s friction in the movement of data,” continued Jitendra, and data is hard to access, secure and distribute. And, the larger the organization, the greater the data friction and the greater the impediment to speed.

“Having a data-driven approach is really powerful,” said Jay Nath, Head of Innovation for the City of San Francisco, during the Delphix Data event discussion. Jay has spearheaded an effort within the government to find new ways to open up access to data to create new services for citizens that fundamentally improve their quality of life. His team discovered that by connecting data to people, they could do things that were not previously possible.

For instance, his team recently developed new ways to understand in real time where all potholes are located in the city and the locations of all the trees that it maintains. They developed an extensive sensor network to understand the effectiveness of painted curbs on parking and traffic – something not possible five to 10 years ago. They also recently partnered with Google to develop algorithms to better understand the reasons why people call 911, and they can now provide city legislators new information to improve policy decisions.

Applying Data to Improve Food Supply

At Accenture, Jitendra’s team worked with a local bank in Australia to create a modern day “Farmer’s Almanac” that digitizes farms and helps farmers understand when and where to plant and harvest food. Using sensors and data, this new service provides farmers with real-time data that helps automate some of their most laborious tasks. This service is part of the bank’s initiative to deliver innovation more quickly and become a software company. The bank was able to aggregate data from all of the farms that use the service and help the country learn about climate change while enabling farmers to grow healthier food, faster than ever.

What’s the secret? “Data is the oxygen. It moves the world,” said Jitendra.

We have a thirst for tons of data that can be applied to empower people and teams to breathe life into new experiences. “Access to the data in this ecosystem is so critical, and you have to reduce the friction,” he continued. “How do we get that data to the right place, really fast? It created demand for what type of stuff that you guys do at Delphix.”

How does data flow within your business? Is it freely, securely available to the people that need it? Get a free trial of Delphix to learn how you can drive important change in your organization.