Digital transformation with data integrity

Jean-Paul Otte at Precisely discusses why data integrity is often forgotten when organisations are planning digital transformation, and how they can avoid this trap

 

With sophisticated technology at the forefront of innovation, digital transformation (DX) initiatives are top of mind for business leaders across the UK. Today, many organisations have stepped away from legacy IT systems, and instead opt for a more cloud-based approach.

 

In fact, recent research has found that, as of 2023, 73 percent of organisations already have a hybrid IT infrastructure, and 37 percent of those currently on premises plan to adopt cloud technologies within a 12-month period. 

 

Despite this, business leaders often forget to address one key factor before implementing DX. That is whether the data running throughout their organisation is accurate, consistent, and contextual data, in other words, whether they have data integrity. Many DX strategies fail due to a lack of data management, with 89 percent of IT leaders viewing data silos as one of the leading obstacles to DX.

 

Essentially, being able to fully trust the data that flows throughout the enterprise is crucial when it comes to taking a strategic approach to DX and achieving business goals.

 

Adopting a data mindset 

DX is the process of adopting and leveraging technology to create new or modify existing products, and ultimately transform the way an organisation operates. Every business has different goals that they want to achieve with DX, such as speed to market for products and services, environment, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, and product transparency for customers.

 

However, many embark on DX journeys without considering the real business value they are aiming to drive.

 

Many organisations will implement a new tool without having defined outcomes, without considering how it will align people and processes, and without having effective ways to measure the return on investment (ROI) of that new solution. To ensure DX projects are successful and to avoid wasting budgets, business leaders must consider how they want technology to sustainably improve processes within the organisation and how they will measure success.

 

Culture throughout an organisation also transforms with DX, but this can be a huge challenge that many organisations underestimate. The first step is adopting a data mindset, and utilising analytics to prioritise and launch new products. Becoming a data-driven organisation requires experimentation, and for business leaders to take risks without fear of failure.

 

Collaboration on DX projects is also key for executive management and business leaders, as this leads to openness and transparency. 

 

Establishing a strong data foundation

It is important for organisations to recognise that business goals are less about the DX itself, and more about what the DX can deliver. In other words, the trick is not getting married, it is staying married. Highly visible and strategic goals are the main reason executives approve DX budgets, so it is important that they fully understand how to determine success and measure ROI. 

 

For example, if an organisation wishes to enhance customer personalisation, there should be set key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics in place, such as data on click-through rates, which can help pinpoint where a customer is finding ease or difficulty in navigation. For enterprises trying to attain more informed and timely business decisions, the importance of trusted data cannot be understated.

 

The key is learning to swim in the data, rather than drown in it. To take their DX strategy to the next level and improve the insights they have access to, businesses need to ensure they have a strong foundation of data integrity whereby their data is accurate, consistent and provides the right context.

 

Connecting data to business needs

Over the past decade, there has been a proliferation of data sources, such as smart phone data, social media data, internet of things (IoT) data, as well as different data types, be it structured or unstructured. In fact, research from Exploding Topics has found that there is approximately 328.77 million terabytes of data created each day.

 

Understandably, this has resulted in many data professionals struggling to clearly identify which data matters and what will drive their desired outcomes. 

 

The bottom line is thinking about the value drivers DX will deliver and then connecting it to people, process, and tools to drive DX initiatives. Using this lens will help organisations find the most important data in their company, otherwise known as critical data. Top-performing organisations often understand the critical data in each level of the business, and utilise this to receive insights and scale out.

 

Additionally, critical data adds context to ensure that the information throughout the organisation is trustworthy and ready for business use. 

 

Context is key

Today, successful organisations need a combination of controlled and contextual data, as this is integral to building data integrity. Contextual data adds enormous value to business data, offering an expanded perspective on the places, surroundings, people, and behaviours that matter to the organisation. 

 

An example of why context matters dates back to 2017, when a data visual was published, which showed that the divorce rate in Maine directly correlated with the consumption of margarine. This is a good example of the fact that business users can be given data and tools to visualise data, and the data points being shown are accurate, but the context is inappropriate.

 

Essentially, to drive actionable decisions and realise game-changing benefits from true business intelligence that can keep up with the business’ growth, business leaders need to establish a base of high-integrity data that they can genuinely trust to inform their business decisions.

 

By doing so, they will also have the insights needed to ensure future DX projects are successful and sustainable.

 

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Jean-Paul Otte, EMEA data strategy lead at Precisely

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com