Performance Magazine, a trusted professional resource for industry updates, expert analysis, case studies, and trends in strategy and performance management, marked a successful year in 2023 with the release of four special editions. Performance Magazine – Print Edition is published quarterly by The KPI Institute (TKI), a leading global research institute dedicated to defining standards and advancing the field of strategy and performance management.

The four editions covered themes of the public sector, sustainability, data analytics, and government. Each edition showcases insights from guest experts in their respective fields. The magazines also present real-world examples, dissect frameworks, and offer practical recommendations for professionals seeking a comprehensive understanding of performance standards.

The Public Sector Edition highlights TKI’s Government Service Index Report 2022, which documents the performance of governments worldwide in key public service areas. The data were analyzed using five dimensions: adaptability, talent, digitalization, governance, and impact. The digital copy of this edition can be downloaded directly from TKI Marketplace while the print copy is available for purchase on Amazon.

The Sustainability Edition offers valuable information and analysis on how to effectively apply sustainable practices to business operations and strategy, as well as measuring and evaluating the impact of such efforts on the growth of the business and the wider society. Readers can grab a copy on TKI Marketplace or Amazon.

The Data Analytics Edition provides insights into applying data analytics to transform business operations, develop robust strategies, improve decision-making, and enhance performance management. This edition can be accessed through TKI Marketplace or Amazon.

The Government Edition explores the public sector’s multifaceted approach to strategy and performance management and reviews standards and concepts behind the tools and techniques governments use in planning strategies and measuring performance. Those interested can secure a copy via TKI Marketplace or Amazon.

For the first quarter of 2024, readers can look forward to editions covering employee performance and strategy management. Stay updated and be the first to access them by following TKI’s LinkedIn page.

The KPI Institute recently interviewed Madhur Mayank Sharma, senior director and head of AI development at SAP Asia PTE LTD and share insights with PERFORMANCE Magazine about about the challenges and opportunities in adopting artificial intelligence in the Asia Pacific region, and how to develop a data strategy that aligns with business objectives and how to foster data literacy within organizations.

TKI: As the Head of the AI Development team for SAP, how do you define a good data strategy? What does it entail?

Madhur: For companies to drive innovation, improve operational efficiency, and deliver better business outcomes, a sound data strategy is a must. Establishing clear business objectives helps in identifying needed data points and data quality. With this in place, choosing the right data platform facilitates the creation of the required digital infrastructure. This infrastructure should support seamless and real-time data flow from the source of generation to the point of decision-making. Lastly, proper training and continuous process improvement result in positive business outcomes.

TKI: What are the unique opportunities and challenges that come with developing AI products and services in the Asia Pacific region, and how do you ensure that your team is able to effectively address these factors?

Madhur: The Asia Pacific region represents a unique challenge and opportunity when it comes to the adoption of AI products and services. On one side, the ever-changing business landscape, language barriers, and varied business processes pose challenges for AI systems to provide desired results. On the other hand, companies are willing to experiment, are open to changing business processes, and have adopted innovative ways of running the business, helping usher in innovation.

TKI: How do you balance the need for speed and agility in data analysis with the need for accuracy and rigor in data modeling and interpretation?

Madhur: This balance needs to be established on a case-by-case basis. Critical business functions in which decisions may profoundly impact business outcomes require more attention and hence better accuracy and rigor in data modeling. Meanwhile, the faster deployment of data modeling may help enhance the user experience for the business processes where user behavior and action require facilitation and substantiation. Agility and relevance are fundamental to both critical and non-critical business functions.

To read more about the latest trends, strategy, and performance management in data analytics, check out the latest issue of Performance Magazine today! You can get a free digital version via the TKI Marketplace or order a printed copy from Amazon. Please be informed that the price may vary for printed copies depending on your location.

Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have profoundly impacted data analytics, allowing for informed, real-time decision-making and improved strategy execution. As interest in data analytics among C-suite executives increases, it is crucial to understand how it can be used to empower strategy and performance management.

The KPI Institute, a leading global research institute specialized in business performance, is proud to announce the publication of the 26th issue of Performance Magazine, which goes on a deep dive into how data analytics is being used to transform the way companies operate, develop business strategies, and manage performance. This issue also includes best practices and case studies on integrating innovative technologies such as AI and ML into an organization’s operations. 

Our cover story features insights from Madhur Mayank Sharma, senior director and head of AI development at SAP Asia PTE LTD, who shared his thoughts on how to develop a forward-thinking, dynamic data strategy. In addition, we also feature a plethora of experts in the field of data analytics, each of whom has provided a unique perspective on how organizations can create a data strategy and establish a data-driven culture.

Furthermore, our very own experts from The KPI Institute provided answers to questions on data analytics, such as:

• How can organizations bridge the knowledge gap between data analysts and nontechnical stakeholders and decision-makers?
• How can managers and executives stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in data analytics?
• What are the most important KPIs for measuring the ROI of data analytics initiatives?

This issue also includes in-depth articles on topics such as how to leverage data for sustainability strategies, how to use business simulations to practice decision-making and problem-solving skills, how to identify whether or not the data gathered is of “good” quality, and how businesses can avoid falling prey to hype by adopting technologies that actually matter. 

Aspiring data analytics professionals will also learn a lot from our Career Insights section, which features an article detailing the importance of building a strong statistical foundation. Readers can also peruse our recommended resources, which include books, podcasts, webinars, and more.

Ensure your organization doesn’t fall behind on the latest data analytics trends impacting business, strategy, and performance management by checking out the latest issue of Performance Magazine today! You can get a digital version via the TKI Marketplace or order a printed copy from Amazon.

Editor’s Note: Below is an excerpt of an article written by Islam Salahuddin, a Business Research Analyst at The KPI Institute. “The Key to Developing a Powerful Data Strategy” is originally published in the 22nd PERFORMANCE Magazine – Printed Edition.

Amidst the buzzing world of data, companies may find themselves directly diving into analytics due to the fear of falling short and missing out. However, many resources can be spent on catching up on the race but end up with no real results.

That happened to 60-85% of big data projects, which IBM reported to have failed because they focused solely on technology. IBM added that the projects did not have a data strategy and a data-centric culture supporting  business objectives. 

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MIT Technology Review Insights survey of 357 business leaders and decision-makers in July 2021 has revealed that only 20% are implementing a data strategy. While 30% of the respondents have a data strategy in place, they believe it still has gaps.

What Makes Executing a Data Strategy at Scale Difficult

According to 42% of MIT’s respondents, the main challenge for implementing a data strategy is access to “more sources of data, including demographics, competitor, and geospatial information.” Thirty-four percent admit they need help with extracting meaningful insights from their data, while some believe they need “better tools and infrastructure for data storage and analytics.”

In the survey’s report, “in unpredictable times, a data strategy is key ,” says Ishit Vachhrajani, Enterprise Strategist at Amazon Web Services,  emphasizing that all the challenges mentioned by the respondents can be blamed on “cultural obstacles” within their organizations.

“We talk a lot about technology, but one problem we hear from leaders is overly centralized, HIPPO-based decision-making that stands in the way,” Vachhrajani said. He also blames the challenges to governance structures that are no longer effective in bridging people who understand and work with data and frontline employees involved in decision-making and customer interaction.

In the same report, Jonathan Lutz, Director of Technology at Aquiline Capital Partners, describes the implementation of a successful data strategy as an “all-hands effort.” He recommends strong support from the top and buy-in across the organization.

For Vachhrajani, a successful data strategy is driven by leaders who invest in equipping people with the right skills and adopting technology across the company.

To learn more on how to establish an effective data strategy, read the full article in the latest edition of PERFORMANCE Magazine. The 22nd PERFORMANCE Magazine – Printed Edition caters the role that data plays in transforming organizations as they achieve excellence, growth, and success. Grab your copy in the TKI Marketplace now!

The KPI Institute (TKI) recently caught up with Kevin Hartman, Google’s Chief Analytics Evangelist, to discuss how data is changing the way organizations develop their strategy and improve their performance.

Below is an excerpt of the interview, which will be published in the next issue of Performance Magazine – Print Edition.

TKI: How important is data today to businesses and organizations?

Hartman: It’s really at the center of everything now, and not just [in] business, but also private life and public sector life and everything in between. It’s data [that] should play a role in every decision that an organization is making — to make them more effective, more efficient… Data and [the] collection of data should play a role in any organization’s operations. It is really at the center of everything that companies are doing today, at least those that are successful.

TKI: What do you think are the challenges that organizations are facing in terms of using data or maybe attempting to use data?

Hartman: Ohh, there are many. You know, from organizations who just don’t have the digital and data maturity — meaning they lack the people, the processes, the technologies to really collect and utilize data. We see that as an enormous challenge. [There are] organizations [that] just haven’t made the investment necessary either because they don’t believe in the return. They don’t want to spend the resources, whatever that is.

But that presents an enormous challenge. Another is just the idea of organizations lacking the kind of leadership that is required to get that organization invested in data and its use, and moving the organization behind a mindset that says data is going to be important to us and we’re going to use data to drive decisions.

…I’d like to say measurement — today getting that right is a leadership challenge, not a technological one. The technology is there. [What matters is] how the organization [will] embrace that challenge and lead from a position of data being a strength.

TKI: Are there times when you’re able to apply what you do at work to your personal life? For example, are there practices at work that you think that people who are not really in the data world professionally can actually adopt at home or for their day-to-day activities?

Hartman: Well, data is a part of everyone’s life… You don’t have to be the chief analytics evangelist at Google for data to affect you. And so I think there’s a lot of crossover, particularly because people are awakening to the existence of data that they are generating online that others are holding and using. And so I think that there’s great opportunity for consumers to just become more savvy in how that data is used, who’s using it, and why.

And it’s no longer a secret should not be because of regulation. And so it — in that way — can become a bigger part of consumers’ lives.

For me personally, I’m in it all the time. I’m either in my work. In the environment and role. Or I teach at a number of institutions and programs, analytics, and so I am fully immersed in this idea of data and the data field all the time.

And it’s really the ability that I have or the opportunity that I have to be that practitioner and see what’s happening in the public sector and private sector, and then stand in front of a classroom of students with the expectation they have that I can explain that to them and make it accessible is really challenging and it keeps me kind of using both of those roles to strengthen how I perform in each area, right? Like my practitioner role at Google makes me a better teacher. My teaching role makes me a better practitioner at Google. So it’s a very symbiotic relationship for me.

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To dive deeper into our conversation with Hartman, stay tuned for the release of Performance Magazine – Print Edition No. July 2022. Get updates from the LinkedIn page of The KPI Institute.