Attending and speaking at recent events has sparked interesting conversations about what makes a successful data strategy.
In this week’s post, I want to share my approach to building a meaningful Data Strategy.
Before we dive in, there are 2 essential things to understand:
1️⃣ A data strategy is not a “one size fits all” solution—it should be a highly tailored process designed to fit your company’s unique context, including:
• Culture and organization
• Business objectives
• Technical and data maturity
• Architecture and infrastructure
• Regulatory environment
• Risk appetite
2️⃣ Designing and executing a Data Strategy is 𝙣𝙤𝙩 a technical implementation project; instead it is an organisational transformation that should target people and processes before thinking about tooling.
This out of the way, here’s my simple (sadly not catchy!) but powerful guiding principle:
“𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚”
Let’s explore what this means in practice:
🔍 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲
People in your organisation need to know what data exists.
A data catalog is a classic tool that can transform how people find and understand available data assets.
✅ 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲
Context is crucial. Understanding what data means and if it’s fit for purpose makes the difference between useful insights and misleading conclusions.
A high-quality dataset that works perfectly for financial reporting might not suit real-time analysis needs.
🔒 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘆
People must only be able to access what they should.
Whether it’s managing cross-border data flows or protecting sensitive information, security and compliance should be built-in, not bolt-on.
🚀 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗹𝘆
Reduce friction. The journey from data to insight should be straightforward and well-supported.
⚡ 𝗨𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲
Here’s a perspective I often share: data isn’t the new gold—it’s the new oil. Its value isn’t in making it “shinier,” but in using it.
→ Even the “best” data has zero value if no one uses it.
This is the most important part for me, and what I truly believe should be an organisation’s guiding light: optimize for maximum data usage.
