Use your digital compass to navigate the uncertainty

Posted: August, 5 2020

I was recently looking for ideas for a birthday party and thought that a treasure hunt using geographical coordinates might be fun. I liked the idea of having fun while teaching an important life skill. Being able to use a compass is imperative for anyone who enjoys traversing nature, taking road trips to new locations, or planning a treasure hunt.

While a compass is considered an ancient tool (first used in the 12th century or possibly earlier), its significance touches every aspect of our society. Compasses were integral to global trade and discovering the new world.

Though most people feel like they have a decent sense of direction, it is mostly based on landmarks. In their absence (at night or on cloudy days), we tend to get lost. A compass can help us find our way. Centuries ago, it opened up communication between countries and cut travel time in half. It is still used as a vital tool in 3rd world countries today.

This simple tool of simple origin is used for navigation, location, and direction. In a world of darkness and uncertainty (where landmarks are hidden), a navigator can use the compass, based on magnetic north, to disregard the noise around them and rely on what is truly known. That view can then be used to set a deliberate actionable path forward, with a great deal of certainty.

Today, we find ourselves possibly directionless. Amongst this chaos, we depend greatly on our readily-available resources—tools, data, knowledge, connections—and experience to improve our family’s, coworkers’, and customers’ situations, while looking to the future. But when it comes to your company’s path forward, how do you navigate the darkness, or land with no landmarks, to create order from so much disorder?

You have the tools. For years, maybe decades, you’ve collected data—some you use, others not so much. It’s not that the unused data is bad, there’s just been no use for it. Undoubtedly, lots of vendors can digitize your data, create flashy dashboards, and demonstrate their accessibility from any device. But is it operationally useful? Is it actionable? Can you cut through the uncertainty of the unknown to establish where it is you’re going and then map a specific path towards it? What does true, reliable insight for better, faster decision-making look like? How much more important is it today than it was 3-4 months ago (pre-COVID19)? And/or will it be even more so 2-3 months from now (post- COVID19)? Have you stumbled to succeed? Are you challenged by where to begin?

It’s time for you to find your digital compass. Learn how comprehensive digital transformation strategies can increase agility and accelerate business value by unifying engineering, operations, and performance, for better, faster insight.

Read the datasheet

Livia Wiley

Senior Director, Industry Marketing

Livia Wiley is the Director of Industry Marketing at AVEVA. As AVEVA’s chief advocate to industry, she helps define the marketing strategy of AVEVA’s offerings for both established industry markets (oil & gas, chemicals, power, mining) and new growth verticals (hybrid, infrastructure, water, renewables). Livia uses her more than 20 years of experience in process and marketing automation and optimization to provide thought leadership and industry-specific content that helps drive significant business value for AVEVA’s partners and customers. Livia holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University and an M.Eng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston.