Turning data into value is a journey. This article looks at the starting point of that journey: visibility.
CIL’s Data & Advanced Analytics Practice
Visibility is essential and without it value is at risk.
Without clear visibility of your business data, you are making decisions in the dark: reports take too long, numbers don’t add up, and meetings stall while teams debate which figures to trust. That slows decisions and erodes value.
True data visibility means clarity, consistency and confidence. Some call it data accessibility; others call it data readiness. Whatever the label, the goal is the same: to act on a single version of the truth.
What is data visibility and why does it matter for growth
Imagine walking out of another board meeting where the key analysis investors want isn’t there, and management can’t answer their questions with confidence. The data is there, but it’s hard to get hold of, inconsistent, poorly defined, or presented in ways that don’t reconcile. Investors are frustrated, the team has burned days assembling reports, and leadership is no closer to the truth.
Data visibility means having a joined-up view of business performance across sales, revenue, customers and operations – in a way leaders can trust and act on. It’s the baseline that turns raw data into decisions.
For many businesses, critical information sits in spreadsheets that take days to refresh and are often owned by a single person. Others have dashboards, but if the underlying data can’t be trusted, there is no real visibility.
Poor visibility tends to show up in familiar ways across businesses:
- Leadership ask the same questions each month but get different answers.
- Comparing performance across regions, brands or channels is challenging.
- Key terms like “margin” mean one thing to finance, another to sales, and neither is aligned.
- Functions run separate reports, with no joined-up view of the business.
Each example highlights weaknesses in visibility that slows decisions, drags on performance, and ultimately, puts value at risk.
Where poor visibility shows up in real decisions
Here’s how poor visibility has played out in real business decisions:
- Transaction readiness: In one case, poor visibility blurred the lines between organic and acquired growth. Separating the two, meant management could present a clearer equity story, supported by stronger quantitative evidence. Comparable transactions with weaker data were estimated by the market to have lost around a turn of multiple due to data opacity.
- Performance management: A professional services firm struggled with unclear utilisation data. Reporting delays created blind spots in resource planning. A new dashboard gave leadership real-time insight to improve productivity and allocation, leading to a 70% reduction in hours leakage within weeks.
- After-sales cost control: At an automative group, visibility gaps between manufacturing data and post-sale claims hid the true level of after-sales costs. Linking the two datasets uncovered £8m of total costs, with management able to identify and address a significant share.
Together, these case study examples show how visibility strengthens credibility, reduces blind spots and protects value. Automated, accurate reporting builds a foundation to act faster: testing scenarios, spotting opportunities and moving before competitors.
Closing the visibility gap: practical steps
Fixing visibility starts with the right foundations and disciplined data management. CIL recommends a four-step approach:
Step 1: Challenge your data with the right questions
- What information do we need weekly to run the business?
- Where are delays costing us opportunities?
- Who owns the data and ensures consistency?
Step 2: Define and align your metrics
- Agree consistent definitions of core metrics across teams so there’s one version of the truth.
- Put access controls in place so people only see what they should.
Step 3: Automate reporting where it matters
- Automate recurring, high-value reports to improve accuracy and free up time.
- Ensure leadership teams have consistent, timely numbers they can rely on.
Step 4: Use reporting as a platform for insight
- Once visibility is robust, it becomes the platform for insight: scenario planning, opportunity spotting and value creation.
- Demand clarity, consistency and evidence in every decision.
Visibility is only the beginning
Data visibility is a leadership issue. With it, management teams can move faster, capture opportunities earlier, and defend value more effectively. But visibility only works when leaders treat data as a shared responsibility, not a technical problem to be outsourced.
Visibility gives leaders confidence in decisions and credibility with investors. The next challenge is turning that foundation into insight: asking sharper questions, spotting risks earlier, and uncovering new opportunities for growth.
Curious about how data visibility could create value for you and your organisation? Get in touch.
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