For years, organisations have wanted high-quality data simply for operational efficiencies and cost savings, but now a shift has taken place where businesses are using data for nearly every aspect of their organisation.
While most businesses have a desire for data-driven insight, many are not realising that ambition. The result is that data management is often fragmented and driven by multiple stakeholders. This leaves organisations dealing with a high degree of inaccurate and disparate data and there are a number of challenges to maintaining it:
1. Sheer volume of data
Every day, it’s estimated that 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created. This leaves organisations continuing to face the challenge of aggregating, managing and creating value from data. The sheer amount of data being created and the numerous collection channels make good data management an important, yet elusive goal.
2. Taking a reactive approach to data management
One of the biggest problems we often see, is that client’s often don’t realise they have a problem with their data. This means many organisations take a reactive approach to data management, and will often wait until there are specific issues that need fixing.
3. Lack of processes and systems
When data is extracted from disparate databases, the inevitable result is data inconsistencies, and nobody trusts the numbers. A lack of processes, data management systems and inadequate data strategies contribute towards inaccurate data.
4. Fragmented data ownership
A lack of data ownership is one of the key shortfalls for most organisations we speak to. Data ownership is still predominantly fragmented, with the management of data quality driven by multiple stakeholders and frequently measured at a department-by-department level, rather than across the business as a whole.
5. Driving a data culture
Many organisations cannot invoke enough support to improve data culture. This may be due to organisations often lacking the knowledge or skills around data management and the resources required to manage data properly.
A new dawn for data management
As organisations begin their shift to that of a more data-centric organisation, they recognise both the importance of quality data and having a more sophisticated approach to managing data. From building better customer relationships to overcoming internal and external data management challenges, organisations will need to overhaul and evolve their data management practices.
In addition, as organisations shift towards a centralised data management strategy, they will be able to take on more sophisticated data projects. The ability to use high-quality data to make critical business decisions and improve your bottom line should be a huge focus in the coming months.
Free data management guide
The way organisations manage their data is evolving. At Jaywing we believe that data is the foundation to your business. Build a strong and secure data foundation and you have both the confidence to operate your business safely and the ability to drive value.
Download our guide ‘How to gain control over your data’ to find out more and discover how leading organisations are managing their data. Or get in touch with us by emailing [email protected].