NEW YORK—Data is becoming increasingly important to business operations, and that includes optical businesses. Having concrete metrics at your fingertips can give you that extra edge over the competition. That’s why VisionMonday.com offers a deluge of data for optical professionals.

For example, a growing number of U.S. employers are providing their employees with automatic 401(k) plan features to drive up plan participation and savings, according to data collected from 401(k) plans serviced by Schwab Retirement Plan Services Inc. through the first half of 2010. Take a look at the metrics in HR Corner.

And, as eyecare professionals look to assess their online presence as a way to connect with patients, new data shows that social media is not just the province of millennial and younger users. Find out which age groups are surprisingly using social media networks regularly in Online Trends.

VisionMonday.com doesn’t just share data—we collect it, too, and so far respondents to VM’s Quick Poll, which asks how likely you would be to consider showcasing your practice on a reality television show, have been polarized between “absolutely” and “no way”—what do you think? Cast your vote at VisionMonday.com.