It Starts with the Data Point

Published 20 September 2026

Most BI conversations focus on dashboards, visuals and the tools used to build them. Far fewer focus on the building block behind all of it: the data point. Every report, analysis and insight is only as good as the data used to build it.

What I see in ERP systems

A few observations recur across almost every engagement:

• Unknown data assets. Valuable data exists in the systems but no one knows it's there, so it stays unused or underused.
• Data silos. Information is spread across systems and modules, but the skills or capacity to integrate it are often missing — and the chance to connect the dots is lost.
• Underused fields. Fields that serve no reporting, analytical or decision-making purpose are still being populated, creating unnecessary effort, inefficiency and cost.

Why the individual data point matters

• Relevance. Capture what the business will need to ask later. A cost centre, project code or funding source left blank today becomes a question you can't answer tomorrow.
• Accuracy. A wrong value can be worse than a missing one, because it looks trustworthy — and decisions get made on it.
• Completeness. Selective capture distorts trends, comparisons and analysis.
• Consistency. The same field must mean the same thing, every time, for everyone.

Poor data quality has a real cost. Analysts spend their time cleaning data and making assumptions, reports come with caveats, and confidence in the numbers suffers.

What can we do?

Start at the point of capture: establish clear ownership and capture requirements, build appropriate validation into the systems, and monitor data quality regularly. And bring AI in much earlier in the data value chain — to audit, check and improve the data itself — rather than spending all our effort assembling beautiful visuals on top of poor-quality data.

A beautiful dashboard cannot compensate for data that is incomplete, inaccurate, or simply not fit for purpose.

If you are working to get your data foundations right, let's talk — or read more about our Power BI services.

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• More Reports Won't Make You Better Informed
• AI in Finance: Stop Talking, Start Experimenting
• Removing the Pain and Drag from FP&A

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