LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Over the
last decade, "data" has become synonymous with "value." Metaphors
abound, of which the most common- if imperfect- is that of data as
"the new oil." Venerable publications like The Economist refer to
data as the "world's most valuable resource" and Venture
Capitalists and other investors have poured tens of billions of
dollars into the space.
All of this bodes well for the data community. Warts and all,
data aficionados, data scientists, and those obsessed with
data-driven decision-making are having a large impact on
organization life and business outcomes. We can observe this impact
across the board- from consumer-connection to areas like AgTech and
FinTech—data-driven companies develop comparative advantage.
But, indeed, there are warts. Of these, the most glaring is also
the most obvious: Just because data can be a source of value, it
does not follow that "the more data the better." In this sense,
data is more like water than it is like oil. No country or
government ever said "gosh, we have too much oil!" But water—water
cuts both ways. Just as it enables life, it can also snuff it out.
Fields bloom with water but they are laid to waste if water-logged.
Businesses are no different!
To deal with this- and other- issues, organizations must develop
a data culture.
Let's look at five incremental steps you can take, each building
on the other, towards that goal. No one step is sufficient in
itself. Indeed, in an evolving business, no one step will ever be
complete. But together they should help you set out in the right
path.
1. Know your data
Do you really know what data you have in your organization - how
it is stored, managed, and used? You may think all your data is in
your ERP system or your data warehouse, but in that case you are
almost certainly wrong. Every organization has departmental data,
desktop data even external data brought in or bought in from
outside. There's a good reason the Data Catalog has been a hot
technology in recent years. The more data you have - the more you
need to be classify it and govern its use. So first, assess what
you have available.
2. Empower your people, don't restrict them
IT departments in the past often acted like gatekeepers: holding
the data close, for very good reasons. But business users, driven
by a need to make better, faster decisions still found ways to get
the data they needed - exporting reports to Excel is still a common
method. They are not trying to break the rules: they are just
trying to do their job. So enable them - with high quality,
sanctioned data, which is fit for purpose but safe to use with
sensitive information removed or masked. If you stand in their way,
you don't solve the problem, you just push it underground.
3. Don't get hung up on tools
Every data and analytics vendor promises that their platform or
their tools hold the key to a data culture. Don't get me wrong, I
think it's a great thing to invest in the best platform and toolset
you can. But there's still a lot of good work to be done with Excel
and a relational database. Chasing after the latest tools is an
expensive distraction. Be guided by the work your users are doing
and their tools of choice, rather than imposing an enterprise
standard from above.
4. Live the data culture
If you want to build a data culture … use data! By which I mean,
ensure that, as a leader, you set an example in meetings,
communications and your daily work. Show that you support your own
decisions - tactical or strategic - with relevant data, and use
data stories, visualizations and analysis to make your points. A
true data culture is pervasive.
5. Encourage communities
As the use of data expands in your organization, natural
communities of practice will evolve. Some people will be really
focused on source data, integration, databases and other
architectural components: great - encourage them to meet, discuss
and share best practices. Data visualization is one area where
users always like to share the latest and greatest (and coolest)
techniques and tips. Encourage them to do so. Communities of
practice can support each other, encourage each other and
accelerate your journey to a data culture.
These five steps to building a data culture will set the
organization in good stead as it looks not only to navigate the
world of data but to truly harness its value.
Data Hunters is an online community for data analysts,
scientists, and business professionals. Here, users ask (and
answer) data-related questions, write reviews of providers and
datasets, and explore data categories and use cases from
algorithmic stock trading to weather forecasting to customer
demographics. Register today to start exploring and building your
company's data culture.
The authors of this article are Romi
Mahajan and Donald Farmer:
Romi Mahajan is a marketer focused
on AI and AI's impact on the wider world. He has written for Data
Hunters several times; this is his first article co-written with
Donald Farmer—a leader in data management and business intelligence
at TreeHive Strategy.
Media Contact
Eli Adry, Data Hunters, +972 35173333, eli@emboodo.com
SOURCE Data Hunters