Implementing a Successful Data Initiative

1. Agility

Data initiatives must be agile in their execution to ensure that quick adjustments to the approach can be made and results are delivered quickly. Agile organisations tend to actively seek feedback, learn and adapt. This agility is critical to ensuring success of complex initiatives such as data.

2. Tailored

Each organisation, its data, priorities and strategy is different from others in the industry. Data initiatives must cater to these unique needs. Big data management must also take into account the unique model, customer, operational risks and cultural needs of the organisation.

3. Outcome-Oriented

Successful data initiatives need to drive business outcome and should be sponsored by senior a business executive. Senior sponsorship ensures the data initiative delivers results that matter and helps unblock organisational barriers that will come up through the journey.

4. Data Security

Data security and privacy is a very important aspect of any data initiative. Especially, if your organisation deals with customer/end user data.  Therefore, you must build data security into the data initiative from the start to ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR.

5. Just-in-time Investment

In order to maximise return, you should make investments as close to the point of need as possible. It should be possible to scale, and pay for the scale, in line with the uptake of initiatives. Cloud resources are vital to enabling this, notably.

6. Start Small and Grow

If you are just testing the waters or have a specific need at this time, focus on the most important aspects and expand over time. Also, if you are not actively managing your data, you risk it being mismanaged.