Collecting data to use in statistics, or summarizing the data, is only an advantage in business if a manager uses a logical approach and collects and reports data in an ethical manner. For example, he might use statistics to determine if sales levels the company achieved for the last few products launched were even close to projected sales levels. He might decide that the least-performing product needs extra investment or perhaps the company should shift resources from that product to a new product.
In some cases, it might be necessary to anonymize customer data or strip out unimportant confidential parts to reduce the risk of a data breach or abuses by employees or data consultants. Privacy laws also increasingly govern how companies can use or store personal data, so it’s important to make sure your business follows the rules in jurisdictions where it’s active.