Executives and knowledge workers in corporate America view the world through the lens of their company’s products, services, and their profitability. Successful corporations adopt focused product development strategies that align with their corporate objectives and deliver projects using planned resources and expertise.
Dr. Priya Sarathy, founder of Wheel Data Strategies LLC (WDS), has worked across different industries building teams and delivering analytic insights through analytics in corporate America. Having worked at both large and medium sized corporations, Priya observed that:
- Large corporations foster an intensely inward focused work culture that leaves precious little time for workers to connect and engage with the community-at-large.
- Small and medium-sized businesses, which employ half of the entire American workforce, are closer and more responsive to the communities and regions that they serve. However, they lack the resources and skills that large corporations have to offer.
Priya is passionate about translating her analytics experience and expertise in large corporations into enablers for smaller enterprises to better serve their clients and communities with state-of-the-art data and analytics thought leadership.
As a corporate executive, she found opportunities to volunteer with non-profits in the Atlanta area. Volunteering engagements helped Priya understand the value of sharing her expertise and skills with community organizations that lacked the know-how to achieve their aspirations. She also taught advanced analytics in MBA programs and became aware of a skills gap between what is taught at graduate programs and what often takes years to learn on-the-Job.
“Small businesses employ nearly half of the entire American workforce and represent 43.5% of America’s GDP.” — US Chamber of Commerce
What Changed?
The WDS journey began with the cumulative impact of Priya’s experience and learnings as a corporate executive, teacher, and volunteer. After a professional career in large and mid-sized corporations, she decided to focus on smaller organizations where she felt her expertise, when shared, would have the most impact.
Priya’s expertise lies in simplifying complex concepts that require seamlessly weaving together data, analytics, and technology to achieve real-world results. Adopting innovative approaches can create greater balance for small businesses and non-profits between funds available and building large data and analytic teams.
Priya believes that knowledge triggers discovery and innovations leading to greater business impact. She concurs with Benjamin Franklin that “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” She envisions WDS to pay forward by helping small businesses and non-profits gain from her experience and expertise.
“Over the years, I have learnt that it is people who truly move a ship. Their passion for change (or adventure) and their creative solutions to overcome challenges keeps the ship moving forward. Discovery, through new knowledge fuels impactful innovation.”
— Priya Sarathy, Ph.D., CDMP, Founder/Principal Advisor, Wheel Data Strategies, LLC
Non-profit founders are passionate about their causes and driven to make their visions a reality. Although they aim to grow fast, they often lack the data and analytics domain skills to extract value from data related to their areas or configure technologies that enable ‘smart’ insights early. There is a noticeable gap in the availability of professional support for new nonprofits and start-ups.
The WDS team seeks to bridge this gap by helping businesses establish a sound data-driven foundation early. This will give businesses the advantage of analytics-driven approaches to operations such as inventory management and improving market reach, identifying sponsorships and donation opportunities.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution can be a gamechanger for businesses that need to do more with less. WDS is focused on making adoption of AI through analytics and GenAI applications easier for small to mid-sized businesses and non-profits.
Navigating the Digital Seas
The use of analytics is often seen as a substantial expense. Businesses are unable to justify the cost of a dedicated data science team against their operational priorities. In a competitive business environment, they face a steeper climb to success. WDS can cover skills gaps through digital automation for data value generation, enabling businesses to focus on revenue generation and growth.
Recent advances in GenAI are enriching human-AI interactions and enabling new pathways to simplify the use of analytics. WDS offers end-to-end solutions ranging from meticulous data organization strategies to harnessing the power of AI and machine learning applications that match business challenges. WDS crafts bespoke solutions with a focus on innovation and excellence to solve immediate challenges and pave the way for future growth and success.
The wheel of Data. Analytics. Design. Solution is focused on creating a transformative force driving positive change forward. With each turn of the wheel, WDS seeks to generate greater opportunities for growth, business, or societal impact.
