Author: Dimitra Triantafyllidou, International Research Networks Ltd. (IRN)
Interviewee: Waleed El-Ramly, Chief Growth Officer at ZE PowerGroup, on data management and energy trading companies.
Data management: is it a paradox putting these two words next to each other in the first place?
I don’t think the two words are a paradox at all. Management is quite an appropriate word but it isn’t an easy task. That word needs to be attached to data just as much as terms like Customer Relationship Management, Risk Management, Policy Management or People Management. As the volumes of data continue to grow, and given organizations are driven by data, more than ever they have to ensure that they are following best practices when it comes to managing data. Without the word “management” data is a liability, with the word “management” data is an asset.
What is the importance of managing data?
There are tons of risks associated with poor data management. This includes IP risk, cost risks, compliance risk, decision risk and many other types or risk. Poor management of data can cost your money, it can cost you time, it can get you into legal issues and it can actually put you at a competitive disadvantage.
Do you think that automation will continue being relevant, steadily pushing off traditional practices?
Automation is relevant in every aspect of the business. People need to be focused on the making decisions, exercising judgement and innovating. Traditional data practices does nothing more than waste time and money doing highly manual and error prone tasks where that time should be used more efficiently doing money making tasks. As more companies realize the benefits of automation, they will find more and more areas to automate.
What are the first steps that an energy trading company should follow when deciding to implement a technological innovation?
First and foremost, companies need to embrace technology and they need to embrace change. It’s human nature to stick with the known and the comfortable but that’s not the path to growth. So the first step is to create that culture in your organization. The next step is to ensure the people around you know how to be critical but not cynical. Make sure they are always looking for ways to do things better and are willing to find ways to say “yes” and not “no”. After that, do your research and explore lots of options…..the guys that are the cheapest and the guys with the best looking marketing material aren’t always the guys with the best solutions. Dig deep, don’t make quick decisions and do your homework. The last step is to give us a call and buy our software!