DAta as a first class citizen

define-data-strategy

Data is one of the corner stones of a modern organization, treating it as a by-product no longer is an option.
At the start of an assignment, we assess how a project or use case fits within the (existing or to be created) data strategy.

Every organization these days needs a data strategy to help determining long term goals. A data strategy defines how data will be used within the organization, what the top data priorities are and what the plan is to achieve those goals. Among other things, the data strategy defines what data is needed, where it will be sourced, how it will be stored and how it will be analyzed. 
The data strategy helps you to drill down to your core business needs and helps you to create an achievable plan for the future. 
Creating a data strategy is not a standalone activity. It needs to be aligned to the core business strategy and needs to be supported by the entire management team. A data strategy helps you define what the organization wants to achieve, and how data can help in achieving these goals.  

A number of questions a data strategy aims to answer are

  • identify: what are the data sources and data flows within the organization?
  • store: how and where is data stored?
  • provision: who has access to which data?
  • integrate: how is data integrated between systems, processes and functions, and how are different data sets integrated?
  • govern: how is access to data managed and controlled?

During one or more brainstorm sessions with the key business stakeholders, ranging from a couple of hours to a number of days, we'll establish a 'think big, start small' data strategy. With this strategy in mind, we can start working on detailed projects without losing sight on the bigger picture.