We all know now that “tech” is an inherent part of our lives in developed countries, and the estimate is that on average, each adult now has between 3 – 7 internet connectable devices. When we consider this in both a B2C and B2B context, with the pandemic backdrop of the last 18 months, remote working and online trading in all forms, the data explosion has gone exponential.
As a linked consideration, all progressive businesses are now seeing data as a corporate asset, which has to be valued and effectively utilised, be that financially, in a customer-centric manner, enhancing employee productivity, or in operational efficiency. This brings into sharp focus, the whole subject of Data Governance, Data Integrity, and Information Accuracy on which business decisions are made.
Who is responsible for data governance, where does it start and end, and what objective goals and aspired values come from effective data governance as part of a businesses corporate mandate? Does the rule of 100% of 100% data integrity and data accuracy become the mantra for meaningful business decision making? What are the measured financial and operational values of reducing time to decision making, as a trade off to 100% integrity & accuracy?
The rule of 80/20 is always quoted as a baseline for measured value. 80% of the data value in our data iceberg sits in the top 20% of the corporate data layer. Is the consideration then not one of data integrity to 100%, at the exclusion of better and more informed business decisions, in a timely manner – Time to Value, but one of knowing where and what the true data points of business value are with the corporate data iceberg.
The opportunity that is presented by Cloud Computing, in this new world where we are all device centric, and data oriented, is that we now have the next generation of technology to provide companies with the opportunities to be more business data-driven. Those who embrace this new operational model will be the winners, and those that don’t will work harder to stand still. We know that history is a great indicator for predicting the future. However, behind all of this shift in technology, and operational modes, there still prevails three things: People, Processes & Products (technology), and when they’re enabled with a strong dose of practical experience the future doesn’t necessarily look so daunting. The selection of all three of these elements are key to project success, within the business framework, and overarching and integral to all of these is effective Data Governance.