“The question today, is how do we embed our data strategy into the business strategy, and what do we do as data professionals to enable us to deliver and explain the value in business terms, rather than in data terms?”
So said Anwar Mirza, data strategy & governance, FedEx Express in the Netherlands, while presenting an international keynote address on at the ITWeb Business Intelligence Summit, being held in Sandton and online this week.
His keynote was about data governance as an enabler for progressing from baseline reporting to advanced analytics.
According to Mirza, there's a lot more to data than just its consumption, because if we don't take care of it before it's consumed, and make sure that it's properly looked after throughout its lifecycle, we’re not going to be able to sustain that quality level which will affect our insights and capabilities.
When it comes to using data, many companies think they are doing well, and have “pockets of excellence”, but when we really dig deep as professionals, we know that there are white spots and sometimes deep black holes in some of our capabilities and skills, he said.
What is also key is making sure those involved in the data chain understand what data is about, including what their responsibilities are, and making sure that there is a clear data strategy driving the business – whether the business wants to be data driven, data informed or data centric. “We have to make that message clear, and get the buy in, right the way up the senior leadership level.”
However, even with all of these things in place, when resources or funding is needed to embed data in day-to-day life, and build the teams that will deliver this value, there is often hesitation.
Mirza says alongside business budgets and capabilities and resources given to the business, there are strategic and transformational projects. “If you look at the initiatives, and transformation programmes, it seems like it's all about technology, and of course it's not.”
He said there needs to be change management behind all of these initiatives. “Also, you need to look deep, to find that the dots that are connected to the sequences are right and that value is being delivered in the right way.”
Similarly, it’s important that the task and the resources are assigned to the right level within the organisation, which is also something a lot of companies struggle with.
“What's the role of corporate as opposed to a region or a business unit or country department? We have to make sure that we understand all of these things, and know when to accept minimum viable product as opposed to the end state, by applying those principles in the right way, at the right time – the people, process, technology and data thinking.”
Everybody must be on the same page, and understand what the business is doing, be it a new product, or moving into a new market, and what they need to do as data people to support that business strategy, he concluded.
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