Truly data-driven companies see significantly better business outcomes than those that aren’t. According to a recent IDC whitepaper, leaders saw on average two and a half times better results than other organizations in many business metrics. In particular, companies that were leaders at using data and analytics had three times higher improvement in revenues, were nearly three times more likely to report shorter times to market for new products and services, and were over twice as likely to report improvement in customer satisfaction, profits, and operational efficiency.
But to get maximum value out of data and analytics, companies need to have a data-driven culture permeating the entire organization, one in which every business unit gets full access to the data it needs in the way it needs it.
This is called data democratization. Doing it right requires thoughtful data collection, careful selection of a data platform that allows holistic and secure access to the data, and training and empowering employees to have a data-first mindset. Security and compliance risks also loom.
The data democratization process, when implemented appropriately, has transformative potential. However, as companies navigate this journey, there’s a critical component to consider – data governance.
Data governance plays a crucial role in supporting data democratization. It provides the structure needed to ensure that data is managed in a way that is compliant, secure, and adds value to the organization.