As the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, real-time data will push society towards a knowledge-sharing economy, allowing companies to secure and share faster, more accurate knowledge, says Geoff McGrath.
To secure our recovery, we need agile and responsive analytics based on near real-time data to drive us forward and ensure that industries bounce back better as we define the new normal. Relying solely on big data to guide us forward, which is often historic and slow-moving, will not equip us for the uncertainty we face.
Let's take a closer look at how the UK is preparing for economic recovery. Bouncing back better is more than just an ambition. It is increasingly becoming a lived reality. Patterns of economic recovery can be seen in the latest edition of CKDelta’s Recovery Index. The Index explores patterns of behaviour in sectors such as travel and retail to provide an ongoing insight into the shape the UK's recovery could take with the right interventions made to secure it.
This data indicates a significant modal shift in forms of travel, with higher proportions of journeys being made by car over rail compared to pre-pandemic levels. For example, travel between London and Bristol has consistently peaked at 73% by car compared to 26% by rail since April 2020. With overall rail travel growth of only 8-14% against a February 2020 baseline since April 2020, the need for targeted investment and consumer campaigns from the UK government to aid the rail industry’s recovery is clear.
Acknowledging this early in the recovery means now is the opportune time to reassess major projects such as HS2 and Crossrail. This is not to say that they do not have their merits, but their need cases are built on pre-pandemic data points and assumptions that do not match current circumstances. Project sponsors should embrace insights from new data which could actually help bolster business cases and, even more importantly, make the final product more likely to meet society’s future needs.
Securing the travel industry’s recovery means utilising minimum data for maximum insight.
Securing the travel industry’s recovery means utilising minimum data for maximum insight. Predictive analytics is not the silver bullet that will precisely map out recovery. But it is far more capable of doing so than outdated historical models.
Modelling scenarios in real time means delivering on sustainable development goals such as net zero. Predictive analytics can be adopted to enable industry to rapidly upscale technologies like EV charging point infrastructure, both in modelling distribution and accessibility needs. The ability to share data between public and private sector bodies also means different sectors can be connected better in planning cycles and provide greater flexibility against evolving long and short-term trends. Now is the time to reset baseline assumptions and deliver smart and sustainable planning for communities.
Now is the time to reset baseline assumptions and deliver smart and sustainable planning for communities.
The positive potential of this technology is clear. Real-time data will push us toward a knowledge-sharing economy, allowing companies to secure, and share faster, more accurate knowledge. For countries around the world, realising this potential now is essential if they are serious about securing their long-term future and adapting to a world where everything seems less certain than the pre-pandemic era.
There will undoubtedly be an element of risk involved as it is beyond the realms of possibility to predict the future. It is, however, far better than trying to apply old models to a world which has undergone such fundamental changes.